Siren Meets the Avengers!
by vintagetypewriter
Summary: Temperance Ward has no idea when she begins an internship for AccuTech how quickly she'll climb through the ranks. Her unusually fortunate life soon leads her to the center of the Avengers Initiative - a place she believes she doesn't belong. But her past isn't as clear as she thought, and around every turn she discovers new things about herself. (Gen.- Eventual Strange/OC Series)
1. Chapter 1

***This is part of a series that will expand into some (slow-burn) romance later on. It is set primarily in the MCU's phase one, but some installments will include interludes (adventures/backstories/lore/etc.) that pull from elements of various comic book runs.**

* * *

 **2009**

Temperance Ward, true to her nature, was in way over her head.

She pulled at the edges of her blazer, trying to straighten out her rumpled clothing as much as possible. She hadn't taken the time to iron her outfit that morning, having overslept a little too much for comfort. It didn't help that she still hadn't acquired an ironing board. Her new position as a contract negotiator for the AccuTech had certainly given her more disposable income, but she hadn't quite settled into the role yet. Only 6 months ago, she'd been an intern in the legal department of AccuTech, a subsidiary of Stark Industries. She had been lucky to land the internship in just her second semester at Stanford, where her plan was to work toward law school.

Her co-workers and employers began noticing after a month or so that she was the go-getter of her group of fellow interns, quite literally. She seemed to _get things_ with relative ease compared to others. She didn't just get coffee; she got everything. A discount on a new fax machine, a legal document that the public records office wasn't supposed to release, a signature from an unwilling party - every time she was sent on an errand to retrieve something, no matter how difficult, she came back successful. She also did hours upon hours of research and poured over contracts and other legal documents to help prepare briefs for the lawyers and negotiators in the department.

It was when she was retrieving one of those briefs from the printer 2 months ago that she ran into Mr. Andrew Lathey, an irate-looking man in a business suit and loafers. This wasn't by any means a strange or unfamiliar sight for the legal department at AccuTech, but something prompted Temperance to step into his path and inquire if there was anything she could do for him. Mr. Lathey was one of the government's primary representatives in negotiations related to their contract and its fulfilment. AccuTech (and Stark Industries) were contracted by the government to provide weapons using the newest technology - most of the larger negotiations with the government took place at the heart of Stark Industries, but they had a lot of stipulations about how research was done, how and when weapons were delivered, etc. A lot of these smaller details of the contract were negotiated by the AccuTech legal department. Judging by the look on Mr. Lathey's face, one of those "smaller details" had turned into a source of contempt.

She had managed to make a few phone calls from the receptionist's desk and iron out the problem - something some of the senior negotiators had already tried. In the end, her employers and coworkers chalked it up to that "way with people" she had and she began to be viewed as their lucky charm. She was allowed to sit in on meetings and negotiations and soon enough she found herself piping up with suggestions. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see that the negotiations she applied herself to were the most successful. At the end of her six month internship, she was immediately (though begrudgingly by some) made into a junior negotiator.

No matter how quick their rise, junior negotiators had no place in a meeting with Tony Stark. Temperance tried not to think about it at present, as it made her pull even more nervously at her clothes. She wasn't supposed to be here alone, but Joe Akers - the top senior negotiator at AccuTech whom she was supposed to _shadow_ during this meeting - had received a call about some kind of child-related emergency.

The meeting was in reference to some huge changes Stark wanted to make to the corporation. They'd all been made aware of the fact that Stark Industries and, by extension, AccuTech, was no longer going to make weapons. Temperance had heard an endless string of gripes and criticisms from those at AccuTech who were trying to accommodate the change and brainstorm alternatives that would keep them all afloat. She'd heard that Stark was set on the idea of breaking into (inventing, really) the clean energy market. Her coworkers down in research and development were certainly excited by the prospect and didn't need much cajoling - the legal department, however, was up to their ears in the new contracts, permissions and patents that would be required to start such an endeavor. Temperance liked the idea of ditching weapons and starting on something new - something enterprising. For Mr. Stark, the switch was as easy as sending a handwritten note to AccuTech that said "We don't make weapons anymore." In reality, though, stopping the development and manufacture of weapons meant breaking off contracts and ties with the US government that hadn't yet been fulfilled.

Joe had, of course, offered to send someone else to replace him for this meeting, but by the time they would get here, the meeting would have to be pushed back, and that would give them a disadvantage before they ever even walked into the negotiation. That's why Temperance half-heartedly offered to go in and represent them alone; that's why Temperance was minutes away from sitting at a conference table with Tony Stark, Virginia 'Pepper' Potts, and two high-ranking government officials.

She heard Ms. Potts' heels clicking against the floor before she and Stark rounded the corner and she took a deep breath, straightening her posture. Putting on one of her 'everything is going off without a hitch' smiles, she shifted the padfolio in her hands into the crook of her elbow and held a hand out to the tall, strawberry-blonde woman.

"Ms. Potts, I presume?" She asked. The woman's eyebrows raised slightly and she took her outstretched hand, shaking it. "Temperance Ward. I'm a negotiator at AccuTech - I think we've spoken on the phone?"

"Yes, I remember!" Pepper replied, her face friendly. Temperance felt her chest expand just a bit at the friendly reception and resisted the urge to sigh in relief. "Miss Ward helped us sort out the fiasco of the missing release forms a few weeks back." She then told the man standing next to her. It was the first time Temperance had seen Tony Stark in person, and she tried not to size him up too obviously. He didn't give her the same courtesy.

"Where is Joe?" Pepper asked, glancing around and then sneaking a peek at the watch on her slender wrist. Temperance had been hoping that he would call her and let her know so that she wouldn't have to be the bearer of bad news.

"Joe couldn't make it." She replied. The two of them stopped fidgeting and stared at her incredulously. "Some kind of...emergency." She added, more unsure of herself now.

"Temperance, was it?" Tony asked. Temperance nodded. There was certainly a spark of interest in his eyes, but they were also narrowed in suspicion and a bit of disbelief. "How old are you, Temperance?"

"Eighteen, sir." She replied, swallowing hard. "Almost nineteen." She then added, as if it made any difference. She immediately wanted to take it back after she heard herself say it out loud.

"She's an intern." Pepper explained to Tony. "Aren't you an intern?" Her tone was decidedly less friendly now, but probably more out of panic than anything. Tony placed a hand on her arm that was clearly meant to say 'calm down'

"I was, Ma'am. I got promoted." Temperance corrected her.

"Great, congratulations. Did you bring anyone else with you?" She asked, turning to look over her shoulder as the men they were waiting to meet, one of them being Mr. Lathey himself, stepped out of an elevator and made their way down the hallway. Temperance bit her lip - one of the most important negotiations she would probably ever sit in on, and she was going in with nobody's confidence. Except her own.

"No, Ma'am. Just me."

* * *

 **2012**

"Temp!" Tony Stark called out in a clipped voice as he fiddled with some items on his desk.

"The temperature is currently set at seventy-two degrees. Would you like me to change it?" Jarvis' voice filled the room. Tony Stark groaned.

"No, Jarvis. And I told you, that joke isn't funny." He said.

"Sorry, sir. Miss Ward insisted."

"You're not supposed to listen to her. Whose side are you on anyw-" Tony began, stopping when Temperance stepped into the room with a questioning and impatient look. Her hand was covering the bluetooth piece in her ear.

"Did you call for me?" She asked.

"Yes, I can't find my Newton's Cradle."

Temperance's eyebrows lowered, unimpressed with her boss. "You called me in here to find your Newton's Cradle?"

"Yes, I did." He replied, giving her an incredulous look. "All enterprising businessmen have a Newton's Cradle on their desk."

"Guess you don't need one, then." She said simply. Turning back to the checklist in the crook of her arm, she un-muted her bluetooth and continued to speak to the person on the other side. She passed Pepper on her way out.

"Remind me to fire her once everything is set up and finished here." Tony told Pepper, pointing accusingly at Temperance's retreating back.

"Right." Pepper laughed. "Stark Tower wouldn't be happening if she hadn't found a way to get those building contracts to go through. Money doesn't buy everything."

"Yes, but what money doesn't buy, charm _does._ And I have plenty of that, too." He argued, sensing that she was taking a jab at him.

"Not as much as she does, apparently. She gets things done. So she can tease you as much as she wants, as far as I'm concerned."

It wasn't the first time Temperance had taken a shot at Stark and it certainly wouldn't be the last. It was one of the things Pepper liked most about having her on staff. Tony needed to be surrounded with people who could dish it as well as they could take it, especially when it came to women. Besides, Tony liked her a lot more than he would care to admit at this point - Pepper watched them bicker like siblings almost constantly. Temperance had made an impression on him that first day, when she'd pretty much single-handedly changed Andrew Lathey's mind about pursuing legal action in pursuit of fulfilling their contract with the government.

Tony had hired her on the spot to work on his personal staff. They hadn't been quite sure what to do with her until Pepper was promoted to CEO, at which time she took over a lot of Pepper's former duties. Pepper Potts was the kind who wanted to see to all matters on her own to make sure things were done right, so it said a lot that she was able to trust Temperance's work ethic and decision-making.

"Ready to turn the lights on, Miss Potts?" Tony asked with a smirk, bringing a smile to Pepper's face.

* * *

After Stark had successfully installed the Arc Reactor and powered on Stark Tower with the new, clean energy alternative it provided, he retired to the penthouse suite to find Pepper waiting for him. They'd had a romantic night planned to celebrate the christening of Stark Tower, but they were soon interrupted by a visitor at the door. The visitor, much to Tony's chagrin, was Shield Agent Phil Coulson.

While the reason for Agent Coulson's visit wasn't completely clear, he insisted that Tony study the materials of a hard drive he'd brought in order to prepare for a situation at S.H.I.E.L.D. which required activation of the Avengers Initiative.

"You have a lot of homework to do." Pepper announced, as she looked at all of the holographic files in awe. "I'm taking the jet to D.C. tonight."

"No," Tony groaned, grabbing her. "What if I finish my homework?" He asked suggestively.

"If you're going to finish your homework, you'll need some help." She retorted.

"So stay."

"Call Temperance." She said simply. "She'll be able to keep you on task."

"These files haven't been cleared for Temperance Ward's eyes." Coulson piped up from the other side of the room. Tony thought to ask him how he knew about Temperance, but then decided against it, remembering that he worked for a covert organization.

"Well, that's probably for the best anyway." Pepper decided. "You gave her the night off, remember? Don't bother her."

"Fine." Tony grumbled, turning back to his homework and beginning to swipe through the projections with his finger.

* * *

Temperance sighed as she pulled her vibrating phone out of her pocket.

"Yes?" She asked impatiently as she answered the call. She had only just left Stark Tower a little while ago. Though she'd left Tony and Pepper to celebrate the activation of the arc reactor alone, she had had a million other things to see to in the other parts of the building before she'd actually been able to get out the door.

"I need you." Tony cut right to the chase.

"It's my night off." Temperance replied, rolling her eyes. "You said."

"I know what I said, but plans have changed."

"Then change them back." She retorted. "I'm supposed to meet my Dad in Jersey for dinner."

"Oh, Alan! How is he doing? I haven't seen him in awhile." Tony said.

"Neither have I." Temperance insisted. "What do you need?"

"I need help studying."

Temperance, who had been rushing down the busy sidewalks of Manhattan toward the train station, suddenly stopped, perplexed.

"Studying _what?_ " She asked incredulously.

"Thermonuclear Astrophysics."

"Therm-what? No, Tony." She groaned. "Can't Pepper help?"

"She has to go to D.C. tonight."

"You want me to stand up my Dad, _again,_ so that I can help you read up on a new interest? That sounds urgent to you?" Temperance asked, a hand on her hip as she stood in the middle of sidewalk, blocking the flow of foot traffic. She got irritated grunts and sighs from the people flowing around her.

"I'd invite him, too, but I'm pretty sure this has a top-secret security clearance." Tony replied in that off-handed way that always meant he wanted you to ask him more about it. Temperance sighed.

"Alright, I'll bite. Why are we reading up on Thermophysical-"

"Thermonuclear Astrophysics." He cut her off.

" _Thermonuclear Astrophysics."_ She repeated between gritted teeth.

"Oh, I don't know." Tony dragged it out, "probably because S.H.I.E.L.D. is activating the Avengers Initiative."

"The Avengers Initiative?" Temperance asked, beginning to make her way back toward Stark Tower without even realizing it. "I thought S.H.I.E.L.D. hated you?"

"They do not _hate_ me. They just weren't sure about me." He corrected her. "And they changed their minds. Something's going on, I guess. Look, if you come back now and help me pull an all-nighter, I'll give you the entire day off tomorrow."

Temperance bit her cheek as she thought about it, even though she was already almost back to Stark Tower. Getting an evening off was a rare experience, so getting an entire day off was a dream. And Tony had clearly taken advantage of her interest in all of this S.H.I.E.L.D. stuff. Tony Stark had a loud mouth, and it hadn't taken him long to tell Pepper and Temperance all about Agent Phil Coulson and the Avengers Initiative.

"Alright, fine. Let me call my Dad and I'll be right up."

"This is why you're the chosen one, Temp." Tony shot back before ending the call. The twenty-two-year-old rolled her eyes as she dialed her father. Tony had, at some point, taken to calling her "the chosen one" because of her rise through the company after he noticed her - and every time he said it, it stood as testament to the man's ego. The phone rang as she stepped into the Stark Tower lobby and headed for the elevator.

"Hello" Her father's voice sounded from the other side of the line. "You've reached Alan Ward, of Ward & Crantz design firm. I can't come to the phone right now, but if you leave a message, I will get back to you as soon as I can."

Temperance pursed her lips as the voicemail message played. Her father had probably gotten caught up in some blueprints or gotten an idea for the design he was currently working on and left his phone in the other room. It's possible he hadn't even remembered that they were going out to dinner tonight - he could be scatter-brained that way.

"Hey Dad," She greeted after the beep, "I was just calling to let you know that something unexpected came up at work and I need to stay late. I'm really sorry. The good news is that I get the entire day off tomorrow, so call me back and let me know if you want to have a day out in the city or something! Love you."

Temperance and her father had always been close, as they didn't have anyone else. Her mother had left soon after she was born, and while Alan had tried his hand in the dating world, he was just too engaged in his work and too absent-minded to hold a relationship for long. He was never neglectful of Temperance, though. Even in her adulthood, he took a vested interest in her life and hadn't been happy when she'd chosen to drop out of Stanford to work for Stark Industries full-time. He was an architect and highly valued the pursuit of knowledge, innovation, and creation. For that reason, he and Tony got along splendidly, and Alan eventually came around to idea of her entering straight into the workforce when Tony shifted gears toward the pursuit of clean energy.

Alan's architectural firm, Ward & Crantz, was the behind-the-scenes cornerstone of Stark Tower - they had worked together with Tony to help design and create a building that would work with Tony's alternative power systems.

Having relayed the message that she wouldn't be making it to dinner, Temperance took a deep breath, pushed away the guilt, and asked Jarvis to take the elevator to the penthouse suite. It was going to be a long night.


	2. Chapter 2

**And I'm back with chapter two! Again, still really just gauging interest at this point and having fun with it - let me know what you think!**

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

Temperance handed Tony another cup of coffee before carefully lowering herself onto the couch next to him and blowing gently into her own steaming mug.

"Is that that nasty flower tea?" Tony asked, his eyes still scanning lazily over the image and text projected in front of their faces.

"No," Temperance answered, "it's Irish breakfast."

Tony turned to her, his eyebrows raising in surprise. "Wow, great idea. Is my coffee Irish, too?"

"No, that's not what Irish breakfast is. It's-nevermind. So...have you ever seen anything like this before?" She asked, gesturing toward the blue, glowing cube showing on one of the projected panels. They'd been "studying" for almost an hour now, and while she couldn't understand most of the thermonuclear astrophysics side of things, she was extremely interested in the secrets about the Avengers initiative that the files revealed. Besides, her confusion was helping Tony to process the information, since he had to turn and explain just about everything they read to her in layman's terms. And then there was the very important duty of simply keeping him on task.

"Actually, I might have." Tony replied, deep in thought as he stared at the object. "My father wrote about something like this in his notes."

"Oh." Temperance said softly, not sure how to respond. "So...this _cube._ It's made from cosmic energy. Cosmic as in...space?"

"Cosmic as in space." Tony confirmed. Temperance took a sip of her tea, processing the information. She leaned forward and pulled up a file on her side of the projection that she'd already read two or three times - about the incident in New Mexico. After she had learned about the Avengers Initiative, she had thought back on what little news existed about that incident and had bet Tony that it had something to do with S.H.I.E.L.D.

"So how did S.H.I.E.L.D get it?" She murmured out loud, studying an image of the "destroyer" wreaking havoc on a small town in New Mexico.

"Yeah, I noticed that's conveniently been left out. Along with _why_ they had it. What they were doing with it."

She pinpointed with her finger an image of a man with long dark hair and dragged it to the front, expanding it with her thumb and forefinger.

"So this is the guy who has it?" Temperance asked, still murmuring to herself. "Loki."

"He looks like a theater nerd I knew in high school." Tony joked. "Were you a theater nerd, Temp?"

"No." She replied simply, still assessing the photograph. "...What is he? An alien?"

"Can't you read?" Tony replied. "He's a god."

Temperance gave him a wry look. He smirked and she rolled her eyes, turning back to her side of the projection panels and pulling up a picture of the blonde "god," Thor. "You read up on the makeup of that cube, and I'll read about these guys." She ordered.

"Well aren't you the dedicated student." Tony replied. "Maybe we'll just send you back to Stanford and find someone else to be my right hand man."

Temperance scoffed, choosing to ignore him as she learned more about Loki and Thor's home, a place called Asgard. The information in these files was scarce; they'd clearly augmented/edited them to control how much Tony knew, but they still held a lot more than anyone else in the world probably knew about.

The rest of the evening was used up in intervals: they'd read separately for a while and then, when they needed a break, they'd stop and talk about everything they'd read over coffee or tea, attempting to piece it together. Temperance's body was certainly losing steam, but her mind was wide awake with the constant flow of new information. It was hard not to be engaged when a whole new world had been opened up to her - literally.

"Because it's cosmic energy," Tony was explaining, "it likely emits some level of gamma radiation."

"So, then, theoretically speaking, couldn't they just look for places with high levels of gamma radiation? Surely that would narrow the search." Temperance replied, her feet pulled up under her and her head resting on her arm, which was propped up on the back of the couch. Tony's eyebrows raised in surprise.

"I was just getting to that - that's exactly what we need to do." He replied, "Your inductive reasoning is better than I thought it was."

Temperance rolled her eyes at the back-handed compliment. "We?" She asked.

"Huh?"

"You said, 'that's exactly what _we_ need to do.' Who is we?" She clarified.

"Dr. Banner and I." Tony explained. "There's a chance Fury will bring me into headquarters to track the tesseract with Banner. That's what the homework's for."

"Oh." Temperance said, frowning. "I thought you were just a consultant." She asked, eyebrows raising. She knew how big of a fan Tony was of Dr. Banner's work.

"I am, currently." He replied. "But when they want to stop piddling around and get real results, I imagine they'll come back for me."

Temperance resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his swelling ego.

"And remember," he added, "I wasn't supposed to show you any of this, so mum's the word."

"If Coulson was _that_ concerned about me seeing it, I don't think he would've just handed it over to the man who _once called a press conference_ to announce to the world that he's a hero." She retorted.

"You really think I'm a hero?" Tony asked, placing a hand to his heart in feigned sentiment.

Temperance responded by abruptly swiping away all of the files on the projection in one swift movement. "If the world needs you so badly, you'd better get some sleep, _Iron Man."_

* * *

Temperance finally got to spend a day with her father, as promised. Alan Ward had taken a break from work to come into the city, and they had done lunch followed by a long walk in central park.

"So what was the urgent matter?" Alan had asked at one point, his hands shoved into his pockets as he walked. He seemed happy and peaceful today, though his clothes were a little more rumpled than Temperance would prefer, as if he'd slept in them.

"Oh, I'm not really allowed to talk about it." She told him apologetically. "At least not yet. It deals with a new project Tony might be taking on."

"Something new already? We just finished Stark Tower." He said, surprised.

"Well, that's the thing with Tony. Always some new idea brewing." She replied with a half-shrug. She'd tried to be present with her father as much as possible, but her mind kept drifting back to the information she'd learned about the tesseract and the other members of the Avengers Initiative. She thought about what little she'd read regarding Asgard: the brothers, Loki and Thor.

Even after the day was long over and she was getting ready for bed in her tiny Manhattan apartment, she couldn't shake the images she'd seen the night before from her brain. If people from other worlds were making contact with earth, the world as she knew it was now gone. And what if these 'gods' weren't here for peaceful purposes? It certainly didn't seem like Loki was here for peace, as concerned as S.H.I.E.L.D. seemed to be about him.

She got her answer to that question when she shuffled into her bedroom after her shower to see that a 'breaking news' update was flashing on her television screen. Hugging her robe more tightly around her for warmth, she curled up on the end of her bed and watched the images that played across the screen.

"Breaking News out of Stuttgart, Germany, where a terrorist attack was thwarted by a group of unknown heroes." The anchor announced. Temperance dove for the set and turned the volume up when she saw an image of the Iron Man suit flying into a crowd.

"You're kidding." She gasped to her empty apartment. The screen played a few clips of the event in Stuttgart square, where Loki was standing before a crowd in some sort of horned helmet.

"Witnesses are telling us that the unknown terrorist demanded that a crowd of gala attendees here in Stuttgart bow to him, before Captain America and Iron-Man appeared and pursued him."

"They actually called him." Temperance announced to herself. "Imagine that."

"Nobody has seen the mysterious man in green or the heroes who pursued him. We are currently waiting on word from the authorities on whether or not this man is in custody."

Temperance chewed on the inside of her cheek nervously as she crawled across the bed to grab her phone from the nightstand. She dialed Tony's number and he didn't answer, even when she put in the special code to be directed to his suit. He was probably just busy still, she assured herself. Curling up against the headboard, she soon fell asleep with the TV still blaring.

* * *

Temperance was disoriented when she woke again. So disoriented, in fact, that she wasn't even sure what had woken her until she heard her phone vibrating against the nightstand raucously. She grabbed the remote and turned off the TV, glancing at her alarm clock through bleary eyes. 3 AM. She suddenly remembered what she had fallen asleep thinking about and quickly snatched up the ringing phone. Tony's picture and name lit up the screen and she sighed in relief.

"Are you okay?" She asked immediately as she answered, foregoing a greeting.

"I'm fine, mother." He replied. "I take it you've seen the news?"

"Yeah, it's scary. Nobody knows what's going on. Are you in Germany right now?"

"I'm not at liberty to say where I am." He answered. He sounded proud of that fact, and Temperance shoved a tongue into her cheek, annoyed.

"Does this mean I have tomorrow off, too?" She asked after a moment.

"Wow, and here I thought you were actually concerned." He ribbed. "No, actually. I'm not calling my _paid assistant_ at 3 in the morning for pillow talk." He then continued sarcastically. "I'm calling because I need your help."

"Okay." Temperance said, her eyebrows furrowing. She got up and walked toward her closet, knowing that this errand would likely require her to go back to Stark Tower. "What do you need?"

"Okay, take a deep breath, because this one might be a little bit above your pay grade." He began. Temperance rubbed her forehead and yawned, trying to get herself to wake up more.

"What is it, Tony?"

"I need you to come and talk to this guy. Loki."

Temperance was officially awake.

" _What?"_ She asked. Her look was incredulous, though Tony couldn't see it. "Why on _earth_

would S.H.I.E.L.D. need me to do that?"

"Listen, Temp. I know it sounds crazy, but I was listening to this guy talk to Fury and Natasha and...I've seen you work. I think you could crack him." He told her in a conspiratorial tone.

" _Crack him?"_ Temperance repeated. "What do you think I am? I'm a negotiator, not a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent."

"Come on, Temp. You have a way of changing people's minds, you're young, you're cute-"

"So's Natasha." She pointed out flatly.

"Look, I got Fury to agree to bring you on board and Coulson is arranging transportation to get you here. It's worth a try. We haven't been able to get anything out of him and we need to move quickly because it seems like he's got something big planned with the tesseract."

"Tony, I'm really not qualified to-"

"You are." Tony cut her off. "All you have to do is talk to him. He's contained; it's absolutely safe. You know I wouldn't be bringing you here if I didn't think you could do it."

Temperance rubbed her temple, thinking quietly. Hadn't she just last night wished that she could continue to be involved in the Avengers Initiative? Sure, she had been thinking more in terms of reading additional files and hearing about it from Tony, but to be there and troubleshoot at the heart of the crisis…that was different.

"You there?"

"Yeah. Where do I meet Coulson?"

* * *

Temperance couldn't stop asking questions about the helicarrier. _How much fuel does it use? What if somebody got stuck outside when it was taking off? Do you spend more time on the water or in the air? How many engines does it have?_

Coulson politely deflected most of the young brunette's questions, claiming that he couldn't share too much with her. He hadn't even allowed her to keep track of where they were traveling, causing her to feel extra disoriented when she looked out the giant bay windows at the front (at least she _thought_ it was the front) of the helicarrier.

"This is mission control." Coulson announced, gesturing for her to step forward on the platform. There were agents all around working on computers and speaking into headsets. Coulson gestured to a tall man wearing all black who turned around to reveal an eyepatch.

"This is our director, Nick Fury." He introduced. Temperance held out a hand and Nick Fury accepted it, openly assessing her.

"Nice to finally meet you, Temperance." He told her as he released her hand. His face suddenly turned harder. "You're not going to make me regret allowing you onto this aircraft, are you?"

Temperance stood up a little straighter, clearly uncomfortable. "No, sir. At least...I hope not."

"Good answer. You go where we tell you and _only_ where we tell you." He explained. "When you're done talking to our _guest,_ we'll arrange for transportation off this ship, where you'll go back to your life and never talk about _any_ of this."

"Of course." Temperance agreed. He gave her a small (possibly approving) nod and then ordered Coulson to walk her to the lab.

Temperance let out a sigh of relief when they arrived at the lab and she saw Tony tinkering with some kind of device. This was normal - this she could do.

"About time, Temp." Tony greeted, walking up to her and slinging an arm casually over her shoulders. "Thanks for coming." He then murmured to her. His sudden sincerity threw her off and made her nervous all over again. How serious was this thing she had gotten herself into?

"Temperance, this is Dr. Bruce Banner." He introduced her to the slightly shorter dark-haired man on the other side of the lab. The man put his glasses back on his face and shuffled over to shake her hand. "Banner, this is Temperance Ward."

"Ah, yes." Bruce replied in a slightly nasal tone, "the world's greatest assistant."

Temperance turned to Tony with a raised eyebrow.

"Before you gloat, those are his words, not mine." Tony insisted.

"Mhm." She replied simply before turning back to Bruce. "It's a pleasure to meet you Dr. Banner. I've heard all about your work from Tony. Too much, really."

Bruce laughed, scratching the back of his head. "So, you're going to talk to antler man?"

"That's what I hear."

"If you don't want to, speak now." A new voice joined the conversation. Temperance and

Tony turned to look at the owner of the voice, Captain America, as he walked through the door. "We shouldn't be sending a civilian in anyway. No offense."

Temperance sized him up as Tony's arm fell away from her shoulders. Captain America seemed every bit as noble in person as he had in her history books, but mostly, she just got the overwhelming impression that he had a stick shoved up his...Temperance had been hanging around Tony Stark for too long. She shook the thought as she reached out to shake the Captain's hand.

"Temperance Ward." She introduced herself.

"Steve Rogers." He replied in kind, taking her hand. His grip was tight, but not nearly as tight as she had expected it to be. He was probably holding back for her sake, though, of course.

"Nice grip." He told her, causing her eyebrows to fly up in question. _Her_ grip?

"Thanks?" She said uncertainly.

"Temperance, long time no see." Natasha Romanoff greeted as she strode into the room in a black body suit. "I can take you down whenever you're ready."

Temperance glanced around to see that Coulson had, indeed, left her with the Avengers. She greeted Natasha enthusiastically. She had met Natasha before, when she was undercover as Natalie Rushman, an assistant at Stark Industries. Temperance nodded, before turning to look at one of the monitors. The man, Loki, was pacing like a plotting jungle cat in a some kind of transparent, suspended prison cell.

"What do we need to know?" She asked as she watched him thoughtfully.

"This staff is connected to the cube - it uses tesseract energy." Natasha explained, gesturing to the glowing staff propped on a table near the center of the room. Temperance immediately took a few steps toward it; the blue glow of the energy it gave off reflected in her eyes as she stared at it in fascination. "We need to find the cube. Loki has people under his control - people that he's using to plan something big. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and scientists. If we find the cube, we find them, and we can shut down the operation." Natasha continued, a hint of sadness passing over her eyes at the mention of the S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel.

Temperance nodded, glancing at another monitor to her right and walking over to it. "So the gamma radiation traces aren't working?" She asked, turning to Tony and Bruce. Bruce's eyebrows raised in surprise at the question.

"Not quickly enough." Tony answered. "It's still like looking for a needle in a haystack."

"Are you sure about this?" Steve asked her again, looking concerned as if he had known her for five years and not five minutes.

"Can't hurt to try, right?" She replied, glancing back at the screen where Loki was being monitored. "I mean, he's locked up in that...thing."

"Alright, well, the sooner the better. You ready?" Natasha asked. Temperance nodded, following her toward the door.

"Hey." Tony murmured as she walked past him, grabbing her arm. "You get uncomfortable, walk away."

Temperance nodded reassuringly before she walked out.

"Hey, Natasha." She called out as she caught up to the woman in the long corridor. "I was thinking, and...the difference between an interrogation and a negotiation is that, in a negotiation, I usually have something to put on the table. Something to offer. Is there…?"

"Nope." Natasha replied, popping the 'p' sound. "I mean, promise him whatever you want. I doubt he'll believe it, though."

"Right." Temperance replied, exhaling deeply. "And...how many people are going to be watching me do this?" She asked, thinking about the monitor she'd seen in the lab.

"Just do your best." Natasha replied, quirking her lips just slightly in an encouraging smile. "If you get nowhere, oh well. Neither could we. This is your stop." She said, nodding toward the door they'd stopped at.

"Okay." Temperance breathed. "Let's do this."


	3. Chapter 3

"And they send another woman. This'll be fun." Loki announced as Temperance walked down the metal catwalk toward the giant containment area he was being held in. She took a minute to observe the holding device, fascinated, before she responded.

"Big words coming from a man in a tupperware container." She retorted. A look of surprise and a bit of confusion flashed across his face for a moment, and it occurred to Temperance that he might not know what Tupperware is. Probably for the better, since insults weren't a great way to start any conversation in which she wanted something.

"And let me guess. I'm to believe that you aren't a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, and that you're just some sweet, innocent woman they pulled off the street to have a heart-to-heart with me." He continued, the smug look back on his face as he took in her wardrobe - sandals, skinny jeans and a burgundy t-shirt that was just a little bit too large for her frame.

"I suppose it doesn't really matter what you believe about me." she said with a half shrug,

shoving her hands into her back pockets. "Is Loki your preferred name?"

"'Your Grace' would be more accurate." He shot back, clearly not feeling very

compliant.

"Alright, Your Grace." Temperance said simply, climbing up to sit on the tall swivel-chair that sat next to the console on her left. "You can call me Temperance. Now, I know that you know why I'm here. And I know that you don't want to tell me what I need to know. But let's start with what you _do_ want to tell me."

Loki turned from her, pacing toward the back of his cell, clearly thinking but also trying to throw her off balance with his silence.

"Okay, that's fine, because I have a lot of questions about where you come from. That's not what they sent me in here for, but I figure, while I have your attention..." She asked. Loki stopped pacing. "So you come from...Asgard?"

"They could've at least sent me someone who's done their homework." He retorted.

"How does one get to Asgard? How did you get to earth?"

"I fell." He told her in a clipped tone.

"Hm. Like Lucifer." She pondered aloud.

"Who's Lucifer?" He asked, his curiosity clearly getting the better of him.

"Oh, he's...no one." She cut herself off. "Fell from what?"

"The bifrost." He said simply. He wasn't giving her anything helpful at this point, but at least he was complying.

"Oh. Because it says in your file that you stepped through some kind of portal. Using the tesseract?" She questioned, as if she was trying to jog his memory about what really happened. "Is that something all Asgardians can do?"

Loki snorted derisively, "No."

Temperance nodded thoughtfully. "Then how did you do it?"

"Just special, I guess." He said. Temperance couldn't help but note that the smile he wore now was practically wolfish - predatory. He was trying to intimidate her. His eyes narrowed as he sized her up.

"I'll bet." She replied, carefully locking up her uncertainty so that he couldn't see it. "You want to know what I think?"

He didn't respond, still sizing her up as if he was trying to place her.

"I think I'm speaking to middle management. You work for somebody." She told him firmly, crossing her legs and folding her hands on her knee. His face fell in surprise just the tiniest bit before he masked it. But she saw it. The slip gave her enough confidence to take a more direct approach.

"Tell me who it is." She commanded him, trying to appear much more authoritative than she actually was. She had expected Loki to laugh at the demand and dismiss her outright, but his eyes narrowed even further. They weren't angry, though- they were supremely interested.

"What are you trying to do?" He asked quietly and carefully, his voice betraying the cogs that were clearly spinning in his brain. It was almost as if he was sensing something about her that couldn't be seen or heard and it was unnerving. Temperance decided that it was a trick to throw her off balance.

"Who do you work for?" She asked again calmly. He smirked, exhaling through his nose.

"I don't think your little trick works on me. Temperance, was it?"

"I wouldn't call this a trick. I don't know how I could be any more direct." Temperance

replied, crossing her arms. The conversation was getting away from her, and she hated that he could clearly sense her confusion.

"I told you where I come from. It's only fair that you return the favor." Loki changed the topic. _What was he playing at?_

"New York." She replied simply. "I work for Tony Stark."

"Ah, in Stark tower." He said with a sarcastic wistfulness. "You must fancy yourself very special."

Temperance actively worked at not letting her eyebrows cinch together. He didn't know what Tupperware was but he knew about Stark Tower?

"Nope, just an assistant." She replied with an easy shrug.

"They sent Tony Stark's assistant to interrogate me." He said with a note of derision. "Now why would they do that?"

He asked the question as if he already knew the answer. Maybe he could enlighten her, because she still had no idea how she ended up in this position.

"Guess they're just desperate." She answered. The last detail he'd let slip had come out when he felt in control - when he was the one leading the conversation.

"While I'm sure they are, I don't think that's the reason." He replied smoothly, stepping closer to the glass. His gaze was boring into her and she resisted the urge to break eye contact. "I know what you are, Temperance."

His voice had a slight hiss to it as he uttered that last statement and the hair on the back of Temperance's neck stood up. She wondered what he was physically capable of - _what had necessitated locking him in this giant box?_ Surely he could kill her without effort. And with no hesitation. She remembered Tony's words about walking away if she felt uncomfortable, but pushed them aside. If she dipped out of the conversation now, they'd lose all the ground they'd made, if any. No, this was a matter of pride now. _Because_ , Temperance thought, _Tony was right_. _I can crack him._

"And I know what you are." She replied, leaning forward and wedging her hands under her thighs like she was chatting with a friend.

"You don't even know the half of it." He assured her.

"You're right, the details are a little fuzzy. I don't know what you're capable of, but clearly a pair of handcuffs wasn't going to cover it." She continued, once again eyeing the holding cell.

"True as that is, this wasn't built for me."

"Oh?" Temperance asked. "They're keeping me in the dark about...pretty much everything." She then admitted. Loki smirked.

"Clearly. There are monsters on this ship that you should fear much more than me."

This time, Temperance did allow her eyebrows to furrow. She reached up and touched the ear piece Romanov had given her.

"Did you catch that?" She asked Natasha.

" _Yep. Nice work, Ward."_ She replied, sounding like she was in a hurry. " _We need eyes on Banner! Who's with Banner?"_ Temperance then heard her call out to someone. She turned her attention back to Loki, who was attempting to cover the surprise on his face.

"It's been a pleasure." She told him in closing, hopping up from the chair, though her voice lacked the usual enthusiasm that phrase called for. She turned and began down the catwalk.

"You'll never reach your full potential here." He called out to her as she walked away. She stopped and turned back to him with an incredulous look.

"You're right, because I don't even work here." She called flippantly. The next thing she knew, she was pitching sideways into the railing of the catwalk. Her head collided with one of the bars, but she managed to hold tight to the railing as the entire helicarrier quaked and shuddered. It sounded like there had been an explosion. Temperance allowed herself to sink down to the floor. Her vision was blurry and the floor under her seemed to be swaying back and forth, though she couldn't tell if it was because of her disorientation or if the helicarrier was still actually rocking.

" _Temp, are you alright?"_ She heard. She looked up at Loki, still encased in his glass chamber, her eyes narrowed in confusion as she tried to make out what he was saying. His lips weren't moving…

Her senses cleared up after a moment and she realized it wasn't Loki speaking, but Tony speaking through her ear piece, panicked.

" _Temperance, where are you?"_

"I'm okay." She murmured, using the railing as a support as she slowly pulled herself to her feet. She felt nauseous - she hoped it was just air sickness from the sudden movement and not a concussion. "I'm still on the interrogation deck."

" _Is Loki still contained?"_ He asked, out of breath.

"Yes." She replied quietly, staring at Loki like he was a wild animal ready to pounce.

" _Don't move. I'm coming to get you."_ He instructed. Temperance stood there, her body tense and her head pounding. She stood as tall as she could, not wanting to give Loki the benefit of seeing her panic.

"If you let me go now, I'll spare you." He told her, his voice taunting.

"I wouldn't get ahead of myself if I were you. You're still not in any position to be bargaining." She retorted, her tone more confident than she felt.

Goosebumps erupted all over Temperance's body when she heard the echoing of a roar coming from the bowels of the ship. Loki's wolfish grin came back. Banner had gone green.

"Won't be long now." He continued. "Not too late to take me up on that offer."

The ship shuddered again, and then suddenly became much quieter. The screens on the console went black and Temperance's heart painfully skipped a beat as she waited to see if his containment cell would open up. It remained locked and she breathed a sigh of relief. Loki's smile widened.

" _Temp, we have an engine out - I have to go fix it before this thing falls out of the sky. Loki has operatives on board, and they're coming for him._ Get out _of there."_

Temperance didn't need to be told twice. Without another word or backward glance to the prisoner Loki, she turned and rushed out of the room. She had no idea which way she should be running, until she spotted men with guns and decided the answer was _the other direction_.

She sprinted through the hallways and around corners, trying to find her way to the hangar. She'd been amazed when they'd brought her in on a helicopter while the helicarrier was already in flight - all the hallways looked alike and she was having trouble tracing her steps back to the hangar, especially since she'd been led to two or three separate places since then. She figured that the hangar was the best bet for getting out alive if things continued to go south.

As she turned another corner, she almost ran head first into a few S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives who immediately pointed their guns at her in response. She threw her hands up, backing up a couple of steps "I'm a civilian," she announced quickly. The three operatives lowered their weapons and she exhaled heavily, bringing her hands down. "Which way to the hangar?" She asked.

"Back this way," The operative in front quickly told her, gesturing over his shoulder behind him. "You'll hang a left and then a right. After that, just follow the signs."

Temperance opened her mouth to thank him, but instead screamed when a _thunk_ sounded, and the man fell to the ground with an arrow protruding from his back. Down the hall, a man with a bow and arrow stood, flanked by a number of others with guns risen and pointed in her direction. Gunfire erupted, and the other S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives began to return fire in an attempt to hold ground. Temperance ran back in the direction she came. She would need to find another way to the hangar.

She turned down another hallway and attempted to navigate in the general direction the operative had given her. Before long, she began to see signs that directed her toward the hangar and could have cried in relief as she followed them.

When she entered the hangar, the racket made her want to leave just as quickly as she'd arrived - yelling, the clanging of metal, and...roaring? The hair on the back of her neck stood up, but she forced herself forward. _Still better off to be near the aircrafts, right?_ She wasn't so sure, but she didn't have any better plans. The other option would be to try and find Tony, but he was likely at the center of this conflict, and he had a metal suit to keep him safe and in the sky. She would need to procure her own metal salvation. She quickly but quietly made her way past various devices and storage containers, headed toward the aircrafts at the end of the giant room. She picked up the pace and gave up on hiding to run right down the center of the hangar as she heard the roars increase in volume. The terrible, visceral sound of ripping metal met her ears and she knew that she was now sharing a space with the Hulk.

"Shit, shit, shit," she murmured as she ran toward the helicopter that had brought her aboard. She wrenched the door open and pulled herself up into the pilot's seat. Her chest heaved, but she didn't have time to catch her breath. "Any chance that you're voice activated?" She asked the control panel in front of her. Nothing. Damn Tony for spoiling her with his technology. Another roar tore through the room and she looked up through the windshield to see Hulk standing opposite her, a few hundred meters away. She began to push anything and everything on the panel, willing the vehicle to start. When the engine did roar to life, she barked out a triumphant laugh.

Her smile fell when she heard the telltale thumps of the Hulk approaching. He was fast. She began to play with the joystick, glancing nervously through the windshield at the approaching green mass. She'd just felt the helicopter's rails leave the floor when Hulk reached out and grabbed them, swinging the aircraft around in a wide circle. She screamed and grabbed onto the handle near her head. Thankfully, she'd at least had the presence of mind to buckle in. He released the helicopter while it was still in full swing, sending it soaring across the room and into a wall. Temperance's body jolted at the impact and she felt the metal close in around her as the aircraft crumpled. She groaned as she tried to shift in her seat. The helicopter had landed on its side and she had smacked her head on the console hard enough that it took a minute for the cabin to stop spinning around her. When her vision finally settled, she reached up and began pulling at the door handle. When it didn't budge, she pulled herself up and threw her shoulder against it. It was no use. The thing was so crumpled and damaged, she'd probably have to be cut out of it. She shifted her legs and curled her toes, trying to gauge the extent of her injuries. Aside from a blossoming headache (or a concussion, more likely), she seemed to be okay.

She flinched and threw her arms over her head as the sound of tearing metal returned - this time, it was her helicopter being ripped open. When she wasn't immediately pulverized, she peeked through the crook of her elbow to see that the door had been ripped completely off, but not by Hulk.

"Your hand, Milady."

The man speaking, though not Hulk, was rather large. He had long blonde hair and a cape and armor that told her he probably wasn't from earth. She remembered him from the images she'd been looking at on the projection screens in Tony's apartment, so she allowed him to pry her from the wreckage.

"Thank you." She groaned, placing a hand to the back of her aching neck.

"You're most welcome. I'm Thor Odinson of Asgard." He introduced himself jovially. Temperance nodded absent-mindedly as she watched the Hulk approach them.

"You got any ideas about _him,_ Thor Odinson?" She asked. His face lit up with a confident smile.

"Don't need ideas when I have this." He replied, holding up a large metal hammer. Before Temperance could question it, he stepped away and spun the hammer, using the momentum to propel himself forward, toward the Hulk.

"Okay, seems like he's got everything in hand." Temperance murmured to herself, climbing down from the helicopter wreckage. She glanced around, unsure where to go now. She obviously wasn't going to get out of here on any aircraft with the Hulk around.

Thor and Hulk continued to tussle, throwing each other around. Temperance cringed as she watched, just waiting for one to bust a hole in the hull and send them all falling out of the sky. When she was satisfied that Hulk was fully distracted by his new foe, she began to make her way back toward the exit of the hangar, keeping out of the open as much as possible. The helicarrier lurched and Temperance slammed into a storage crate as the floor slanted and then righted itself again. The disturbance must've also thrown off Thor, who had been grabbed by Hulk and thrown down the long runway of the hangar. The impact was hard enough that he lay groaning on the floor. Hulk charged toward him.

Temperance's stomach dropped as she glanced between Thor (who'd landed just a few meters away from her) and Hulk, who was still approaching. Thor had pulled her from the helicopter and kept Hulk from charging her. She couldn't just leave him there. She emerged from her hiding place and skidded to her knees next to the man.

"Thor," she called, "Come on, you've got to get up." He was conscious, but his expression was dazed.

"Damn it," she murmured, climbing back to her feet. Hulk had been leisurely making his way over to finish the man off, but now that he saw his lost target returned again, he grew angrier and began to run. Temperance stepped around behind Thor's head and hooked her hands under his arms, beginning to drag him. He was heavy, but not nearly as heavy as she anticipated for such a strong man. Thor seemed to jolt back to reality for a moment when she managed to drag him, staring up at her in confusion and surprise. Temperance promptly dropped him back to the floor when she realized they weren't going to make it out of Hulk's reach - there was nowhere to pull him. As Hulk reached them at a fast gallop, Temperance instinctively stepped over Thor to shield him. She tried to brace herself for the impact and take it head-on, but at the last moment, she threw her arms over her head and crouched.

"Stop!" She screamed at the height of her anticipation, the same way a person yells 'no' at the crest of a roller coaster hill, despite knowing that it won't change the outcome. The thumping stopped abruptly, followed by a sliding noise, and Temperance winced even harder. When the impact never came, she slowly peeked through the crook of her arms to see Hulk towering over her.


	4. Chapter 4

Temperance stood unmoving, staring up at Hulk with wide eyes. She was frozen in place, terrified that even the slightest movement would bring on the attack. Hulk's eyes looked dazed at first, and then turned angry again, as if he were struggling against something. He shuddered in frustration and let loose a roar that sent saliva all over her.

Then he brushed past her and stomped away.

Temperance let out a breathy, nervous laugh after a moment. She was shaking all over.

"Are you okay?" She asked Thor, who was now climbing to his feet.

"What was that?" He asked, one eyebrow arching as he sized her up.

"I don't know. I guess Dr. Banner's got some control after all." She replied, still breathing heavily.

"Yes, I suppose so." Thor agreed. Temperance wondered briefly if he'd sustained a head injury or if he always looked this confused. "I'm going after Loki. You should find some place to hide."

Temperance nodded, swallowing hard. Her heart was still racing hard, and her relief was quickly fading as she remembered that she was still on an aircraft that was falling out of the sky.

"Right. Be careful." She called out awkwardly as the man ran off in the direction she'd come from earlier. She stood there for a moment, glancing around in indecision. There were probably parachutes somewhere around here. Perhaps she could just...jump? She stood there a full minute before walking out of the hangar and back through the hallways of the helicarrier. She wasn't exactly sure where she was going, but she knew she didn't want to be alone. As she walked the halls, she picked up her ear piece, which had been dangling from her shoulder, and placed it back in her ear.

" _I need you to get to that control panel over there and tell me which relays are in overload position"_ Tony was saying. She briefly recalled them mentioning before Hulk had attacked her that engine three had failed.

" _What's it look like in there?"_ Tony pressed a moment later.

" _It seems to run on some form of electricity."_ Steve replied. There was a long pause.

" _Well, you're not wrong."_ Tony said. Temperance rushed to a navigation panel on the wall nearby and pulled up a map of the helicarrier. She quickly located engine three -it was nearby, but it spanned multiple levels, due to its size.

"Steve, what level are you on?" Temperance asked.

" _Four."_ He answered after a brief pause.

"Don't move, I'll be right there." She exclaimed, taking off in a sprint. If there was one thing she knew after three years of hanging around Tony Stark, it was relay switches. Tony and her father had spent countless hours playing with the circuitry of Stark Tower's clean energy and more often than not, there needed to be somebody at the control panel resetting the relay switches after they tripped and broke the circuit.

She arrived at the engine room in under two minutes and hesitated for a moment when she saw that most of the room was now missing, exposing them to the open air. She grabbed onto anything she could reach as she stumbled toward the control panel that Steve was staring at. The wind alone would be enough to suck her out of the ship if they fell any faster than this. She sank to her knees next to the Captain and brushed her hair away from her face as she ran her fingers over the panel.

"Where are the relay switches?" Steve called over the noise. Temperance shook her head, her heart hammering.

"I don't see them!" She called back.

" _Today would be nice."_ Tony said in the earpiece, his sarcasm undercut with a hint of uncertainty. Temperance continued to explore the panel with her fingers and her heart skipped a beat in relief as she found another small door that popped opened to expose the switches.

"Got 'em." She told Tony. "We've got four in overload."

"Okay, good. I want you to flip them, but wait about 20 seconds between each flip. Can you do that?" He instructed carefully.

"Yep, working on it." Temperance told him, flipping the first switch and beginning the countdown in her head. Her countdown was interrupted as a bullet ricocheted off the control panel, and she flinched away from it.

"Keep going and stay down. I've got it." Steve told her, getting up to face the men in masks who had emerged with their guns on the platform just below them. One threw a grenade toward the engine and Steve leaped into the air to meet it, swatting it away from the ship. Temperance flipped the second relay. Steve landed on the agents' platform and began fighting with them, easily shoving one off the ledge. The man's scream faded quickly as the atmosphere whisked him away. Temperance flipped the third relay. Steve picked up the gun of the first man and shot at the second, forcing him to retreat. He hid behind a corner and the two continued to shoot at each other intermittently. Temperance flipped the fourth relay.

"What now, Tony?" She asked.

" _Even if I clear the rotors, this thing won't re-engage without a jump."_ Tony replied, thinking out loud. " _I'm gonna have to get in there and push."_

" _If that thing gets up to speed, you'll get shredded."_ Steve argued, still somewhere on the platform below Temperance's.

" _That stator control unit can reverse the polarity long enough to disengage maglev, and that could -"_

" _Speak English!"_ Steve said, growing impatient.

" _See that red lever?"_ Tony began again, frustrated. Temperance and Steve both glanced around for a moment before spotting the lever in question. It was on the same level as Temperance, but there was a large gap separating her from it, where the floor had been destroyed in the explosion. " _It'll slow the rotors down long enough for me to get out. Stand by it. Wait for my word."_

Temperance was relieved when Steve leaped up and pulled himself onto the platform near the red lever. This was going to work. It had to. However, before Steve could step toward the lever, the helicarrier pitched sideways. Temperance clung to the control panel to keep her balance, but Steve stumbled backwards, stepping on a piece of loose metal that slid under his foot, causing him to pitch backwards off the ledge.

"Steve!" Temperance cried, watching him fall. At the last moment, he managed to grab a loose cable that was blowing in the wind and dangled from the platform.

" _Stark, we're losing altitude."_ Fury spoke through the earpiece.

" _Yep, I noticed."_ Tony replied, his voice strained. He was pushing the rotors. Temperance glanced down at Steve, who was slowly managing to climb back up the cable. She whipped around and looked at the red lever. She had to get to that lever. There was a small metal line of some kind of piping that ran along the wall. If she could manage to grip it and shimmy across the gap, she could drop onto the other side and pull the lever. She took a moment to steady herself and then rushed over to the wall, reaching up for the piping. It was attached flush against the wall and only stuck out about two inches, which meant she could only grip it with her fingertips. She jumped up and grabbed on, using the toes of her shoes against the wall for extra stability. She began to shimmy sideways, over the gap.

" _Cap, hit the lever."_ Tony said in her ear. Temperance grimaced, her whole body shaking as she kept all of her muscles tensed in an attempt to keep control. Holding her weight was less of a burden than she'd suspected, but the ship continued to sway and her fingers had very little purchase on the metal piping.

" _I need a minute, here!"_ Steve called from somewhere below, his voice strained. Temperance had made it more than halfway across the ten-foot gap and was trying to tune them out, focusing instead on controlling her breathing.

" _Lever! Now!"_ Tony said again, his tone growing nervous. Temperance heard gunshots from below and ignored them, instead letting them spur her on faster. Finally, she kicked off of the wall and landed on the metal grating with a painful _thud._ She could hear Steve struggling with an agent down below as she shakily crawled over to the lever. She grabbed it and used her weight to help her pull it down, collapsing back to the floor when it was done. The gunshots stopped, as did the racket of clanking sounds and shouting coming through her earpiece from Tony's end. Her chest tightened with panic - she'd been too late.

"Tony," She called, halfway between a gasp and a sob.

"I'm alright." Tony announced after a moment. "Now I know what going through a garbage disposal feels like."

Temperance didn't laugh, still laying there in a heap until Steve climbed up onto her level and pulled her into a sitting position, holding her shoulders. "Ward, you okay?"

Her chest was still heaving and she was shaking from exertion, but she nodded wordlessly. He helped her to stand and led her back inside, watchful for any more rogue agents.

* * *

"Here, have a seat." Tony told Temperance after they reconvened in the conference room and shared a quick embrace. The relief of their survival had been short-lived when they heard that Coulson hadn't made it. She, Tony and Steve took a seat at the table, and Temperance wondered briefly where the others were, but didn't want to ask for fear of more bad news. Fury, who stood at the head of the table, pulled out a handful of vintage Captain America trading cards.

"These were in Phil Coulson's jacket pocket." He announced. "Guess he never did get you to sign them." He added, tossing them across the table at Steve. Temperance winced as she saw the blood splattered on them. Steve reached out and picked one up, looking at it.

"We're dead in the air up here," Fury continued. "Our communications, location of the cube, Banner, Thor...I got nothing for you. I lost my one good eye. Maybe I had that coming." He began to walk around the table. "Yes, we were going to build an arsenal with the tesseract. I never put all my chips on that number, though, because I was playing something even riskier. There was an idea -Stark knows this-called the Avengers Initiative. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people. See if they could become something more. See if they could work together when we needed them to. To fight the battles that we never could. Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea. In heroes."

Tony rose from his seat abruptly and they all turned to look at him. He stood there for a moment before storming out of the room. Temperance, who had already begun to feel out of place as the shock of everything wore off, now felt even more misplaced without Tony there.

"Well, it's an old-fashioned notion." Fury continued, clasping his hands behind his back. There was a heavy silence for a long moment, before Steve laid the trading card he'd been holding back on the table and went after Tony. Temperance was left with Fury and Agent Hill, who'd been watching the exchange from the corner.

"I don't suppose I can catch a flight back to Manhattan any time soon?" She spoke up after a moment, unable to bear the silence any longer. She glanced up to see Fury already watching her with his good eye.

"Do you know why you're here, Temperance?" He asked.

"Because my employer has too high of expectations?" She answered after a moment, her tone light. Fury made her nervous, which made her want to break the ice with jokes. It wasn't working.

"We don't just _bring_ civilians here." Agent Hill chimed in, crossing her arms.

"Wouldn't be the first time he got me into some place exclusive." She returned.

"I'm gonna cut to the chase." Fury told her. "You were always meant to be here. And you proved today that you're _ready_ to be here."

Temperance's eyebrows furrowed and she stared at the two of them for a long moment, trying to understand. "I...flipped a few switches and pulled a lever." She said, finally finding her voice. Fury didn't reply, instead pulling up a projection screen in the middle of the table. It was showing security footage from the hangar. Temperance watched as the Hulk grabbed her helicopter and swung it around, slamming it against multiple surfaces before tossing it across the room like a crumpled paper ball. She paled watching it - she hadn't realized from inside the helicopter just how bad it had been. She continued to watch as Thor pulled her out, unscathed, and as Hulk charged her, stopping at the very last moment. The hair on her neck and arms stood up. She didn't want to watch it.

"You stopped him." Fury said, noticing her discomfort and pausing the footage. Temperance's eyebrows rose.

"Who?" She asked. "Hulk? No, that was Banner. He had...a moment of clarity...or something. I _saw_ it." She insisted.

"You told him to stop." Hill interjected, stepping forward. "And he did. Immediately."

"But that wasn't -" Temperance stopped herself. It was ridiculous; she shouldn't even have to argue against it.

"And how do you explain walking away from the helicopter unscathed?" Fury asked. Temperance said nothing, looking back at the figure of herself standing over Thor's prone body in the projection. "There's a reason you've been kept Avengers-Initiative-adjacent all this time." He continued, "We weren't going to involve you, but we got desperate. We _are_ desperate. And we're gonna need your help."

* * *

Temperance walked into the lab that Tony had reclaimed to prepare for the confrontation at Stark Tower. After Steve had gone after him, the two had decided to go along with the Avengers Initiative for the sake of avenging Coulson and protecting the world from whatever Loki had planned. Tony was currently using a blow torch to mend his Iron Man mask. His suit had taken pretty extensive damage inside of that engine. Temperance winced thinking about it.

"Did Fury mention that I'm coming along?" She asked, leaning against one of the lab tables.

"He did. I can't say I'm a fan of the idea. He showed me the footage, though. I've got to say...it's interesting." He replied, pulling his welding mask up to look at her. She crossed her arms.

"Yeah. S.H.I.E.L.D. seems to think so. Apparently they've been...aware of me." She said. "Did you know?"

"I had no idea. I swear." Tony told her seriously. "Do you think it's true? That you can control Banner?"

"Of course not." Temperance replied, giving him a look. "It's ridiculous."

"And yet you still agreed to come along." Tony noted. Temperance hesitated before responding.

"I have just as much stake in stopping this as you do. Just because I'm not some hero doesn't mean I can't help. I'm the one who reversed that rotor, you know." She said.

"So I heard." Tony replied. "And I appreciate it. I just...it could get pretty ugly. I don't want you around."

"Yeah, well, that's what I said about my 21st birthday party, but you crashed that anyway." She retorted, shrugging a shoulder.

"Okay, that hurts." Tony said, placing a hand over his heart to feign offense. Temperance smirked. The doors to the lab slid open, and Natasha came strutting in, already armed to the teeth with gadgets that Temperance couldn't make heads or tails of.

"Come on, Ward." She told Temperance, gesturing for the younger woman to follow her. "Let's get you into something a little more combat-appropriate."

"Preferably bulletproof." Tony called out as Temperance followed the redhead out of the lab.


	5. Chapter 5

Temperance went up to the cockpit area and took the seat next to Natasha while Clint was in the back, discussing strategy with Steve.

"You should be listening to that." Natasha said, foregoing a greeting as she flipped a few switches near her head.

"Yeah, well, I wanted to talk to you about a few things." Temp said.

"Now's not the best time to go over your life history, Temperance." Natasha replied.

"I realize that. But I think I deserve some answers before I charge into battle." Temp told her, not budging. "And I _know_ you have answers. You showed up to 'work' for Tony not long after I did. You weren't just watching _him."_

Natasha was quiet for a long moment before sighing. "You get three questions," She said. Temp sat up straighter in her chair.

"How did S.H.I.E.L.D. know about me?" She asked.

"As a child, there were some... _strange..._ circumstances surrounding you. S.H.I.E.L.D. noticed." Natasha replied.

"Like what? Temp asked.

"I didn't promise explanations." Natasha answered. Temperance bit her cheek but didn't push it. She didn't want to risk losing her two other questions.

"So if S.H.I.E.L.D. has known about me since I was a kid, why haven't they involved me in anything? Why keep me separate?"

"You were young." Natasha answered, pausing. "And your father has been a good advocate for you." The distant look in Natasha's eye suggested that she hadn't had such an advocate for herself.

"So my father knows about all of this? He's been lying to me my whole life?"

"He's been _protecting_ you." Clint cut in as he walked up behind them, motioning for her to vacate his seat. Temp sighed as she got up.

"One more thing." She said, still standing there.

"You're out of questions." Natasha reminded her, looking up at her with a raised brow.

"Did S.H.I.E.L.D. get me the internship at AccuTech?" Temperance asked anyway. She already knew the answer to this one, but she still wanted to hear it.

"It made it easier to keep an eye on you and Tony both. Kept you tied down so we'd know where to find you if we needed you. But we didn't expect you to rise to Tony's right-hand man within the year. That was you."

Temperance nodded slowly. She knew that assurance was supposed to make her feel better. She wanted to know about the 'strange circumstances' from her childhood. They obviously thought that she was the one causing those strange things to happen. But it just didn't seem possible. If she could do the things they were saying, wouldn't she have noticed it herself before others did? But now wasn't the time to dwell on it. New York City was her home and if there was any way that she could help protect it, she would try.

* * *

When Temperance returned to the back of the jet, she pulled out her phone. She didn't have time to talk to her father about everything she'd learned, but she figured she should call him to at least let him know that there was danger in New York, and that she was going to be at the epicenter of it. She dialed the phone and brought it to her ear, sticking a finger in the other one to drown out the other noise in the aircraft. The phone rang several times before going to voicemail and Temperance's throat constricted. She hadn't realized how badly she'd wanted to speak to him. He often let his calls go to voicemail without realizing his phone had ever buzzed. His tendency was to get caught up in blueprints and work notes and forget about his phone for hours at a time.

"Hey, Dad," She greeted after the voicemail beep. Steve watched, and although his gaze was empathetic, she was suddenly very aware of the fact that she was the only one calling a parent right now. "I just wanted to see what you were doing. If you're at work right now, please call me, okay? I love you."

She left it at that, hanging up. If all of this Loki stuff was resolved quickly and under the radar, then she didn't want to worry him needlessly. The jet suddenly banked left as they brought it down to a lower altitude, and Natasha worked to avoid the skyscrapers. Temp and Steve reached up and grabbed onto a bar on the ceiling to steady themselves. Steve pointed to his ear piece, and Temperance fished hers out of her pocket, playing with it until it was seated firmly in her ear.

"Stark, we're on your three. Headed Northeast." Natasha announced.

"What? Did you stop for drive-through?" Tony said. "Swing up Park. I'm gonna lay them out for you."

A chill ran up Temperance's spine. _Them._ She edged closer to the cockpit and got a glimpse out the windshield. She saw Tony shoot across a gap in between two buildings up ahead, and he was followed by a number of smaller aircrafts. Clint attempted to shoot at them as they passed by, using the jet's guns. Natasha turned the corner when they reached the edge of that street to reveal many, many more of these enemy crafts. There was an army coming. In her disbelief, Temperance didn't realize that she had let go of the bar until they took another sharp curve, and she flew back into the cargo area. Steve managed to grab her arm and keep her from slamming into the wall, and she grunted a quick thanks before anchoring herself in place again.

"We've got eyes on Loki." Natasha announced. Temperance saw a flash of the Stark Tower sign and heard the sound of the jet's guns once again. A moment later, the aircraft lurched hard.

"Hang on." Steve shouted over the noise. "We've been hit."

Every muscle in Temperance's body tensed as the jet began to lose altitude, and it became harder and harder to keep herself in place. Soon her feet had left the floor, and her hold on the bar was the only anchor she had. For the second time that day, she was falling out of the sky. This time, she had a feeling she'd be going all the way.

When the jet collided with the ground, Temp's hold finally broke and she slammed to the floor. She slid around until the aircraft came to a stop and groaned as Steve helped her back up. Natasha had brought it down surprisingly easy, considering that Temperance had expected it to go up in a ball of flames. She heard the sound of Natasha and Clint unbuckling behind her and followed Steve outside as the back door of the aircraft lowered into a ramp. The ground was already covered in concrete rubble; sirens and screams permeated the air. Temperance noticed many overturned cars as she ran alongside the others. Steve stopped short, and she ran into his back, coughing on cement dust. He was staring at the sky, and the hair on the back of her neck rose as she followed his gaze. The origin of the army was a giant portal floating above Manhattan. When she noticed movement inside the portal, she raised a hand to shield her eyes from the sun. A giant ship, serpentine in nature, was emerging from the space on the other side. It dipped directly down into the alley where they stood and the four of them wordlessly watched it soar overhead. Creatures began leaping from it left and right, anchoring themselves to the sides of buildings. Temperance took a couple of steps back, overwhelmed and panicked by what was coming. Natasha reached out and grabbed her arm, giving her a small, reassuring nod. Temperance swallowed hard. This was an invasion. It was happening, whether she decided to fight or not. The thought helped build her resolve again. If it didn't matter, she might as well choose the fight.

"Stark. You seeing this?" Steve asked, beginning to get his bearings as well.

"Seeing. Still working on believing." Tony replied. "Where's Banner?"

Temperance tuned out the conversation as a large succession of explosions began down the street. She turned to get a better look, kneeling behind a taxi cab that had been thrown onto the sidewalk in front of the public library. Loki and a number of his soldiers flew above the streets, shooting at everything that moved. Cars flipped end-over-end, and people scurried into buildings to avoid the large chunks of debris.

"Guys," Temperance called over her shoulder without tearing her eyes from the scene. The others came and took cover next to her, as Loki and his men drew nearer.

"They're fish in a barrel down there." Steve said as they watched the alien creatures land on the streets and begin shooting with handheld weapons. Temperance and Steve ducked lower as a couple of blasts came their way. Natasha and Clint jumped into action, pulling out their weapons and shooting back. Temperance had opted not to bring a gun because she didn't know how to use it, but now she regretted taking only a couple of knives and gadgets. They weren't going to be any good unless she got _real close_ to those things.

"We've got this." Natasha assured Steve as she knelt down next to them again.

"You sure?" He asked, looking to Clint, who nodded.

"If I run down the center and draw most of the fire, do you think you can follow along and help clear people out of there?"

It took Temperance a moment to realize that Steve was addressing _her_.

"Yes," she replied with a lot more confidence than she felt. Steve nodded, grabbing a warped piece of metal that looked like it had once been part of a car door.  
"Be careful." He handed her the makeshift shield and then disappeared over the hood of the cab, taking off at a full sprint. Temperance took a deep breath and ran around the back of the car, sprinting down a set of concrete steps to the street. Steve ran as the crow flies, right over cars and debris, while Temperance weaved through the chaos on the ground, largely unnoticed as the aliens turned to shoot at their new target. The few stray shots that came in her direction were deflected by the shield she held.

 _Get people off the street._ She repeated as a mantra in her head. _Get people off the street._ It was easier to think of it this way - she wasn't fighting a battle. She was helping to keep people safe.

"Get off the street," She started calling out to people. "Go to the subway! Go! Go!" She directed people to a subway entrance nearby, watching them file down the stairs. "Let's go! Let's go!"

It wasn't long before the stairs down to the subway platform became clogged - there were already a lot of people down there, and they weren't moving efficiently to allow new people in. When a group of 4 or 5 people were left vulnerable at the top of the stairs, Temperance glanced around. A man was watching the chaos unfold from the front door of a brownstone nearby. She signalled for the people to follow her as she rushed up the steps of the building.

"Open the door." She told the man. He was watching through the window of the door, which was also reinforced by a locked lattice gate. He was shaking his head profusely, rambling about safety. Temperance glanced behind her - Steve and the police were drawing most of the fire now. It was the ideal time to get civilians off the street unnoticed.

"Open it!" Temperance shouted, slamming a hand against the gate and rattling it. The man paled and opened the door, pulling out a set of keys to open the gate. "You got a basement?" Temp asked. The man nodded. "Get everyone to the basement."

The people filed into the building and Temperance ushered a few others stragglers in before she allowed him to lock it back up. When the gate was fully secured again, the sound of escalating screams caught her attention. The creatures had discovered that people were escaping into the subway. One was standing at the top of the stairs, firing down into the crowd. Temperance rushed down the steps of the brownstone and approached it from behind. When she was close, she ditched the makeshift shield Steve had given her and instead picked up a piece of steel rebar that was sticking up out of the debris. There was still a hefty chunk of concrete stuck on the other end. Temperance stepped up behind the alien and swung the rebar like a baseball bat across the back of his head. The impact was hard enough that the concrete shattered against his skull, and he fell to the ground. He still writhed on the pavement, but the hit was enough to incapacitate him. Without thinking, Temperance knelt and pried the gun out of his hands before he could gain his bearings. It was bulkier than any gun Temp had seen, but it had a basic trigger like any other, and she pulled it without hesitation. The resulting energy blast killed the creature instantly without even a bit of kickback from the weapon.

By now, his buddies had caught on to her, and several of the creatures turned and fired in her direction. She backed onto the third stair of the subway entrance and squatted down behind the concrete barrier that held the handrail, shooting back. Yes, this weapon was going to be a gamechanger. She wasn't sure what the power source was, but it didn't seem to need reloading, so she was able to fire continuously without worry. She wasn't the best shot, but she managed to hold ground as the remaining New Yorkers on the stairs filtered down and out of sight. She managed to shoot a couple of them from a distance, but most had to venture closer before she had a chance of meeting her target. The streets had cleared out significantly, and Temperance was relieved to find that she couldn't see any more civilians running around. She wanted to re-group, but a particularly stubborn alien had pinned her down in a shoot-out from across the street, and she couldn't manage to hit him in his hiding place behind a car. After a couple minutes of back-and-forth. Steve appeared behind the creature and knocked it out, putting an end to the confrontation. Temperance glanced around warily before crossing the street to join Steve behind the car.

"You good?" Steve asked. Temperance nodded.

"What now?"

"Follow me."

Temperance ran behind him, holding her new toy at the ready. They headed back in the direction they'd come, having successfully managed to clear the street. The police also seemed to be moving and setting up blockades with more efficiency, likely thanks to Steve's direction. Many of the creatures had now converged on Natasha and Clint back at the library. Steve dove into the fray and Temperance approached more slowly, picking off a couple of them from behind. She managed to shoot one in the back as it ganged up on Natasha. Natasha, who'd obtained a high-tech staff from the fallen alien, managed to shock the other with it. She sent an appreciative nod in Temp's direction before calling out a warning.

"Watch out!" Temperance turned on her heel, gun held high, to see that the two creatures behind her were already convulsing. She could see the electricity coursing through their bodies and smiled as Thor landed a few feet from her.

"What's the story upstairs?" Steve asked as they all came together, having temporarily created a lull in the fight.

"The power surrounding the cube is impenetrable." Thor said.

"Of course it is." Temperance said with a sigh.

"Thor's right. We've gotta deal with these guys." Tony chimed in through the ear piece.

"How do we do this?" Natasha asked. Steve began to lay out some ideas, but was interrupted by the sound of a hiccoughing motor. They all turned to see Bruce approaching on a rundown bike.

"This all seems horrible." He announced as he got off the bike and they ran to meet him.

"Stark, we've got him." Steve said.

"Tell him to suit up." Tony replied. "I'm bringing the party to you."

He appeared from around a corner and headed right for them, trailed by the leviathan. Temperance suddenly felt less confident about her gun. Bruce turned and ran to meet it as he transformed into the Hulk, landing a punch directly on the leviathan's nose. The sudden loss of momentum caused it to flip on end, the tail falling swiftly toward them.

"Hang on." Tony said. Everyone crouched as he shot an energy blast into the leviathan's spine, causing it to split in half in a fiery explosion. Temperance felt the heat at her back, but the blast dissipated before doing any real damage. The group stood again, and Tony landed next to Temp. The creatures, still attached to the sides of the buildings, let out angry shrieks at the loss of the leviathan.

"Guys," Natasha said. They all turned around and followed her gaze to the portal. Two more leviathans and many more aliens on speeders were spilling through it now.

"Call it, Cap." Tony said.

Cap gave quick and efficient orders. Clint would perch on a roof and call out patterns and strays. Tony was going to take to the sky and keep the perimeter, making sure nothing made it more than a few blocks out. Thor would use his lightning to try and bottleneck the portal. Steve, Natasha, and Temperance would stay on the ground and fight those that made it to the streets. And Hulk...well, Hulk was just going to be turned loose.

"Want this?" Natasha asked, offering Temperance the staff she'd obtained. Temp eyed it. It was long, with a pointed end. She'd seen Natasha use it to electrocute one of them earlier, which could be useful. But only if she got close enough to use it.

"I'd better stick with the longer range weapon." She decided, holding up the gun that had become her safety blanket. Natasha raised the staff and, without looking, used it to shoot an energy blast at an alien several yards away. Temp's eyebrows rose.

"Yep, I'll take it."


	6. Chapter 6

Temperance blew a strand of hair out of her face and whipped around with her staff held out defensively. She fired another shot of electricity at an alien, and it screamed, falling to the pavement. Her muscles were also screaming, and she was ridiculously winded compared to Steve and Natasha, but with the help of her new weapon, she was managing to hold her own - the adrenaline of survival was a fierce motivator. The three of them had been holding their ground for what seemed like ages, and the creatures just kept coming. Temperance watched even more pour through the portal and groaned. There was no way of knowing how large their forces were - they couldn't just keep killing each one individually and expect to win.

"We've got more incoming," She announced. Natasha finished killing the last one nearby, and they all took a moment to breathe.

"Captain, none of this is gonna mean a damn thing if we don't close that portal." Natasha said, leaning against the trunk of a crushed taxi cab.

"Our biggest guns couldn't touch it," Steve replied.

"Well, maybe it's not about guns." Natasha said, watching Stark Tower with a calculating look.

"Be careful, Nat, I just brought Loki's ride down, and he's back in Stark Tower." Clint announced through their earpieces.

"This would be a lot easier if I wasn't having to fight these creatures _and_ Banner," Thor complained from his end, voice strained. Tony exhorted him to just stay out of Hulk's way.

"We need to get Banner and Loki in the same room," Temperance lamented. She had said it thoughtlessly, as wishful thinking, but when Steve and Natasha turned to look at her, she could see that she'd been taken seriously.

"Think you can do that?" Steve asked, his expression earnest. Temperance did _not_ think that she could do it, but she was also hyper-aware that everyone else here was just figuring it out as they went along, and she could at least try and do the same. She nodded.

"Great, I'll head for the portal," Nat said, backing up and gesturing to Steve to give her a boost. Temperance stepped back, unsure what was about to happen. "See you up there."

Temperance watched with wide eyes as Natasha took a running start and jumped onto Steve's shield. He thrust the shield up to give her a boost, and she went soaring into the air, grabbing an alien ship that soared past - just like that, she was off. Temperance watched the ship disappear around a corner and then turned back to look at Steve, who was watching her with expectancy.

"I won't be doing that," she announced. They ducked as a blast of energy came at them, bouncing off Steve's shield. "Hey Mom, come pick me up?" She asked into her earpiece, causing Steve to raise an eyebrow.

"On my way, dear." Tony replied without missing a beat. Clint directed Tony from his perch on top of the roof, and he was there a minute later, shooting an energy blast into Steve's shield so that he could direct it at the approaching aliens.

"Hang on," He told Temp, grabbing her around the waist. Temperance clung to the slippery suit as tightly as she could, resisting the urge to scream when Tony took off. "Alright, Barton. Got eyes on Banner?"

"He just crashed into Grand Central Station on one of those leviathans." Clint reported. They'd been flying right past Grand Central Station, so Tony made a quick turn and dropped closer to the ground.

"Have a nice trip!" He called, letting her go. Temp fell and rolled as she hit the ground, jumping back to her feet as soon as she got her bearings. The Hulk was just emerging from the giant hole the leviathan had created at the entrance of the station.

"Banner!" She called, scrambling up the pile of rubble toward him. He roared angrily, and she stopped in front of him, sensing that he didn't want her to come closer. She forced herself to keep eye contact with him and summoned all of her willpower. "Take me to the top of Stark Tower."

The hit was so sudden and so forceful that she didn't register what had happened until she was on laying the sidewalk, curled up in pain. He'd knocked her all the way across the street and into the side of a building, where she then fell limp to the pavement. She raised her head to catch a glimpse of the damage she'd done to the brick wall and then let her head drop, groaning.

"Temp, you alright?" Tony was asking in her earpiece. "Talk to us."

"God, I hate Nick Fury." She gasped, struggling to roll over onto her stomach. He'd been right about her enhanced durability but little else. She felt like such an idiot. She wasn't going to be able to hold up her end of the plan, and New York was going to suffer for it. Who did she think she was, that she had imagined, even for a second, that she could stop Loki? She thought of her father, probably holed up in a basement at his firm two blocks from here, and forced herself to move. She managed to roll onto her stomach, and she placed her hands flat on the pavement, gritting her teeth as she pushed herself onto all fours.

She winced when she realized that Banner had pursued her across the street. She stared at his feet as he stopped in front of her, the hairs on the back of her neck rising. She slowly forced her head to raise and looked up at him. She steeled herself, prepared for him to roar in her face like last time, but instead he just grunted, blowing damp air out of his nose at her. She flinched, screwing her eyes shut, and when she opened them, it was because he was lifting her off the ground.

"No, wait -" She gasped, but he didn't listen, tossing her carelessly over his shoulder. She barely had time to grasp the contours of his neck and collarbone before he hurtled himself into the air and began bouncing between the planes of the skyscrapers around them.

"Okay, okay," Temp whispered to herself, her face screwed up as she tried her hardest to hold tight and not look down - this ride was much more jarring than Tony's had been. "We're okay. Just don't look down. Just hold on, and don't look down."

"It's not that your pep talk isn't good, Temp," Tony's wry voice came from over the earpiece, "It's just that it's not universally applicable."

"Shut up," Temperance shot back, her voice rising at the end when Hulk took one final, giant leap onto the balcony of Stark Tower. Temp let go once they were over the balcony and fell to the ground, cringing as she rolled over a layer of stone debris. Hulk charged forward, his sights already on the target, as he knocked Loki through the large windows of the penthouse. Temperance jumped to her feet and followed them inside. Hulk slammed both fists on the ground and began to charge again at Loki, who jumped up, flinging his cloak behind him.

"Enough!" He shouted, causing Hulk to stop in his tracks, hesitating. Of course he would stop for _Loki_ and not her, Temperance thought wryly. She took a few steps forward, knees bent just slightly in a defensive stance - she wished she still had her staff. "You are, all of you, beneath me." Loki continued, seething. "I am a god, you dull creature. I will not be bullied by -"

Before he could finish, Hulk reached out and grabbed his leg, flinging him into the stone floor. Temperance winced, throwing her arms over her head as debris flew everywhere. Hulk slung him back and forth over his head, slamming him into the floor each time. After many brutal hits, Hulk grew tired of the ragdoll, dropping him on the floor, where he lay unmoving.

"Puny god," he muttered, walking back toward the balcony. Temperance's arms came down slowly, her eyes wide. She'd suspected that Hulk would be the best one to put up a fight, but she hadn't expected it to be _this_ easy for him. She tensed as he sulked past her. It occurred to her that she should probably try and stop him, in case Loki recovered and she needed him again, but she allowed him to leave, not wanting to meet the same fate at the Asgardian at her feet. She stepped closer, looking down at the man. His eyes were wide, but they stared right past her, at the ceiling. She cleared her throat and reached up, adjusting her earpiece.

"Loki's taken care of." She reported to the others, her voice shaking just a bit.

"I need the scepter," Natasha replied immediately, "Do you have it?"

"Uh," Temp began, spinning around. She rushed out to the balcony where Hulk had first encountered Loki. The scepter lay there abandoned, and she stooped to pick it up. "Yeah, I got it."

"Bring it to the roof." Natasha demanded.

"On it." Temperance ran back through the penthouse, hesitating for a moment to look down at Loki. He was conscious, but it looked like he was in too bad of shape to move. He probably wasn't going anywhere. She ran over to the door of the stairwell and opened it.

"Ward, where are you?" Natasha asked.

"Some of us have to use the stairs." She grunted as she ran, taking them two at a time. A minute later, she burst through the door to the roof and rushed over to Natasha, handing her the scepter. Another man, the scientist that Loki had controlled using the scepter, stood by a control panel, prepared, presumably, to help them. The portal generator was engulfed by a blue forcefield. Natasha walked over to it and slowly pressed the tip of the scepter through the barrier. It penetrated.

"I can close it," She announced, relieved. "Can anybody copy? I can shut the portal down."

"Do it," Steve replied immediately.

"No, wait," Tony said, causing Natasha and Temperance to exchange a wary look. "I've got a Nuke coming in. It's gonna blow in less than a minute, and I know just where to put it."

Temperance's chest constricted as he spoke. She didn't know what made her more terrified. That someone had decided to solve the problem by wiping New York off the map, or that Tony was apparently carrying said nuke right now.

"Tony," she began, her voice cracking. She stopped, though. She wanted to tell him - _beg_ him - not to do it. But how many thousands of people would die if they didn't get rid of it?

"Stark," Steve picked up for her, "you know that's a one way trip."

Temperance brought up a hand to cover her mouth as she caught sight of Tony coming into Manhattan with the missile on his back. She desperately wanted to turn away but couldn't make herself actually do it. She faintly heard Tony telling Jarvis to save the rest of his power for the turn, and Jarvis asking if he should put a call through to Pepper. As he approached Stark Tower, he managed to turn the trajectory of the missile up, and Temperance ran over to the edge of the roof, watching as he soared past her, straight into the sky. Nobody said a word as he disappeared into the portal with the missile. Ten seconds passed, then twenty.

"No, no, no." Temperance whispered, her throat tight and aching. The missile went off and the portal filled with fire. The creatures began to die, falling to the ground or crashing their ships in a fiery constellation. Nearby, a leviathan collapsed and fell onto a building. Temperance didn't see any of it, eyes focused on the portal.

"Close it," Steve's voice finally said. A sob escaped Temperance, but she continued to stand at the precipice of Stark Tower, watching. Behind her, Natasha thrust the scepter further into the portal generator. The hole in the sky immediately began to shrink, replaced by sky - a sky so blue it seemed to mock them. It wasn't until the hole was completely gone that Temperance was able to see the figure that had fallen out. She gasped.

"Son of a gun," Steve announced in disbelief. They all watched as Tony accelerated toward earth. Something wasn't right. He was spinning.

"He's not slowing down," Thor observed.

"Somebody get him," Temperance said, her voice panic-stricken. Just when she feared nobody was going to catch him, Hulk leapt between two buildings and intercepted him, bringing him safely to the ground below. The comms were silent for a full minute, and Temperance was afraid to ask. She felt Natasha put a hand on her shoulder, but didn't turn around.

"Is he-?" She finally asked. Still, nobody spoke. Temperance's heart hammered in her chest as she tried to make herself accept the news.

"He's alive." Steve announced suddenly. Temperance placed a hand over her eyes, letting out a relieved sob that soon turned into a laugh.

"Good, because I'm gonna kill him."

* * *

When they all met back in the penthouse, Loki was just starting to regain the use of his limbs. They cuffed him, and Temperance fussed over Tony briefly before helping load the tesseract and the scepter into the cases that SHIELD provided.

"How do we know we should be giving this to them?" Temperance murmured, careful not to let the SHIELD agents overhear her. Fury was insisting that SHIELD hadn't been responsible for that nuclear missile, but the World Security Council had still found a way to launch it from the helicarrier using moles within the agency. Though they trusted Fury well enough, the Council's oversight was unsettling.

"We don't." Tony said simply. Natasha handed the scepter over to them, but Tony held onto the Tesseract case, insisting that the Avengers would be taking care of it personally. The agents seemed displeased but didn't stop them, and Temperance was relieved. The team piled onto the elevator, along with Loki, and Tony took a seat on the black case, having shed his damaged Iron Man suit. Everyone shouted as Banner, who was still Hulk, attempted to join them.

"What?" Hulk grunted.

"What do you think?" Tony sneered, raising his arms to gesture to the full elevator, "maximum occupancy."

"Take the stairs." Thor suggested, and Hulk roared and punched the floor as the doors closed. The elevator was quiet for a long moment - everyone was exhausted - before Natasha finally bit the bullet and started the conversation that couldn't wait.

"We have to have a plan for that thing," She said, nodding toward the case. She was right - someone would no doubt be waiting to intercept them in the lobby. They weren't just going to let the Avengers walk off with it. "We can't let them take it."

"It should be taken back to Asgard," Thor said immediately. The space was quiet again as everyone considered it.

"Works for me," Temp chimed in.

"Me too," Tony said, though he seemed to still be turning it over in his mind. "I think it's less likely to become a threat to Earth again if we send it away."

"And what about him?" Natasha asked, looking at Loki with narrowed eyes. His eyes narrowed right back - Thor had gagged him with some kind of device so that he couldn't speak.

"He's coming with me as well," Thor answered, and this time it wasn't a suggestion. Temperance wasn't sure how she felt about that, and the others didn't seem convinced either.

"How do we know he'll pay for his crimes? He should answer to us." Clint said. The coldness of his tone reminded Temperance that he'd practically been a slave to the Asgardian earlier that same day, and she felt a pang of sympathy.

"My father will not take kindly to this news, believe me," Thor assured them. "Loki will be imprisoned. And our prisons are designed to hold him, unlike yours. He only poses more of a threat to you if he's left here."

The conflict wasn't completely resolved, but they'd reached the lobby, so their time was up - and they weren't going to go before the World Security Council as anything less than a united front. They all exchanged exhausted and weary looks, falling into a silent agreement.

"Alright," Temperance announced, weaving her way to the front of the group as they exited the elevator. "Let me do the talking."

* * *

Temperance had needed to play hardball in her negotiations with Pierce (who she learned was a member of the WSC), and his men had even tried to put their hands on Tony at one point to retrieve the Tesseract, but in the end, they had managed to come to an agreement. Both the tesseract _and_ Loki would return to Asgard with Thor. Loki, however, would first spend a couple of days in a holding cell, where SHIELD could attempt to extract more information about what happened - where the army came from, how the tesseract worked, etc. Temperance didn't anticipate that they would glean anything useful, but caved under the condition that Thor and the rest of the Avengers had to be granted full access to Loki in the interim, to ensure that he wouldn't be secreted away or otherwise gotten rid of.

"You did great, kid." Tony told her as they successfully exited Stark Tower with the tesseract in hand. "We're all gonna go out for Shawarma. You in?"

"I need to call my Dad, first," Temp said, pulling her phone out of a zip pocket on her jacket. She groaned when she saw the shattered screen - she was lucky it was working at all after the day she'd had. She exhaled in relief as she unlocked the screen and saw the three missed calls from her father. She dialed him and placed the phone to her ear, stepping away from the group.

"The cleanup for this is going to take years," Natasha lamented, looking around at the debris littering the streets.

"We need to work with the city and the first responders and get organized. Come up with a good strategy for dealing with the aftermath." Steve said, also surveying the damage.

"Right," Tony agreed. "After food. Temp, you ready?"

Temperance turned around slowly, pulling the phone away from her ear. Tony's eyebrows furrowed, concerned by the look of her. She had gone pale.

"What's wrong?" He asked, causing the others to also turn and look at her.

"He's not-" She tried, her bottom lip quivering. She cleared her throat. "He's not answering."


	7. Chapter 7

**Warning: This chapter contains depictions of grief (loss of a parent) and the aftermath of a large-scale disaster. If it's not something you can read, but you'd still like to know all the pertinent information from the chapter, feel free to stop by my tumblr (username: siren-meets) and send me a message.**

* * *

 **Chapter Seven**

When aliens attacked Manhattan, the world changed irrevocably. The evidence of it was all over midtown, where rubble still covered the streets, and buildings stood in disrepair. The 24-hour news cycle was relentless, and the panic was widespread. Everyone had to find a way to move forward, knowing that earth was not alone in this wide universe. They had to find a way to sleep anyway. But for the people who lost something more than a building, or a car, or the ignorance of what's beyond our atmosphere - sleep evaded _them_ the most. Temperance Ward, as one of these hapless souls, didn't give a damn about aliens.

Although it was days before the crews had actually found him. Temperance knew that her father was gone when she saw that the offices of Ward & Crantz had fallen in the invasion. She didn't remember the walk home to her apartment later that evening, or her assurances to the others that she wanted to be alone, and that she'd be okay. All she knew was that, as the dust of Loki's chaos settled onto the streets of New York, she was alone in her apartment, and she was alone in the world.

Today, she had emerged to begin making arrangements for her father's funeral. Tony and Pepper had promised to help her with the process, so she had come to Stark Tower to meet them. Walking through the aftermath of the battle had been surreal, and she felt guilty for not helping with it more. She wasn't the only one who had lost someone. Some were still hanging in suspense, worrying, because their loved ones hadn't yet been pulled from the rubble.

She hadn't meant to stay in her apartment all this time. But every time she had considered leaving, she was overcome by the reminder that the one person she'd had in this world - her one refuge - was gone. But that same reminder - that she was the only person _he'd_ had on this earth - had also dragged her back out. She had to take care of his affairs.

"We've all been terribly concerned for you," Thor told Temperance when she entered the penthouse of Stark Tower, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you," She whispered.

"I know you probably had some questions that you wanted to ask your father," Thor continued, his tone sympathetic. To be honest, she hadn't thought too much about it. None of it seemed to matter after she received the news.

"Yeah, I did." She agreed.

"Well, I just wanted a moment to speak with you, because I haven't had the opportunity to be completely honest with you," Thor continued. Temperance fidgeted, looking around anxiously. Whatever this was, she wasn't sure she wanted to hear about it right now. She was tired of learning new information. She needed time to deal with everything else she had heard in the last week.

"Okay," She replied weakly after a moment.

"You're not the first person I've met that can do what you do," Thor told her, getting straight to the point. Temperance waited, eyeing him - he'd managed to catch her attention.

"You mean the persuasion?" She asked, then amended, "the _alleged_ persuasion?"

"Yes. It's rare, but there have been a few other Asgardians with this talent."

"Asgardians?" Temperance parroted. "You think I'm Asgardian?"

"That part I'm sure of," Thor said. Temp considered it. It _would_ explain why she could take so much damage and still walk away from a fight, but it certainly wasn't the only possibility. "I hate to put all of this on you right now, but you see, I'm taking Loki back to Asgard to serve his prison sentence today, and I think he may know more." Thor explained.

"What makes you say that?"

"The way he spoke to you on the helicarrier." Thor reminded her. She had forgotten about that - and she'd definitely forgotten that the others had been listening to all of it. "I was thinking that I could bring you to speak with him. Before we leave."

Temperance's throat felt dry.

"It's up to you, kid." Tony interjected, stepping into the room to announce himself. Temp chewed on her lip as she thought about it.

"Um," She began, "I appreciate the offer, but...I don't think so." She told them, clearing her throat. Thor and Tony exchanged a look, and Tony gestured for him to give them a moment alone. Thor obliged, murmuring a half-formed excuse as he left the room.

"You said it's up to me," Temp reminded Tony, already defensive.

"I know, and it is," Tony said, "But why don't you take a seat and just think about it for a minute, because it's not something you can change your mind about later." He told her, his tone soothing as he pulled out one of the kitchen island stools and helped her into it. He pulled one out next to her and took a seat as well.

"Is this about facing Loki?" He asked, "Because if it is, I'll go with you. Hell, I could go _for_ you, if you just tell me what you wanna know."

"It's not Loki," Temp said, "My dad kept all this from me for a reason. Maybe he was right. Maybe I shouldn't know any more than I already do. Maybe the best way to honor him is by staying in the dark."

Tony nodded, taking a moment to form his response.

"I don't know exactly what Alan's plan was...but I know that he loved you more than anything. Until now, the best way for him to love you was to keep you in the dark. Keep you safe. But now, things have changed, and the best way to love you is to help you understand who you really are. I'm sure that's what he would be doing if he were here." He said gently. Temperance didn't respond for a moment. Her eyes filled with tears that she didn't want to cry - she was so exhausted from crying - and she swallowed the lump in her throat.

"If I do this," she tried to explain, "if I learn too much, I can never go back to the way things were." She said, her voice thick.

"Temp, I think you're already there." He told her as tenderly as he could. "Things aren't going to be the way they were."

Temperance's lip quivered, and she pulled it between her teeth to stop it.

"I just think," Tony continued, "That eventually, when the dust settles, you'll want to know."

Temperance nodded after a minute.

"Okay. I'll talk to him," She said, clearing her throat in an attempt to make her voice stronger. "But I don't want to be there long, because I need to get on with the other stuff."

"Of course. We'll drop in, see what he knows, and then be gone." Tony insisted, getting up.

* * *

Temperance looked at Loki through the glass of the detainment room. Thor had asked if he could take Loki outside for this discussion, but S.H.I.E.L.D. had been adamant about not letting him out of their sight while he was still on earth. It was already a big deal that they were letting Thor return him to Asgard for sentencing, so Thor didn't push the matter.

"You ready?" Tony asked. Loki's head turned to watch her, and she had to remind herself that the other side of the glass wasn't transparent. Still, he managed to look her directly in the eye, and she willed herself not to look away. If he hadn't come here, her father would still be alive. Her shoulders tensed at the thought, and she willed them to relax, pushing the thought away. Anger wouldn't get her anywhere in this interaction, and it wouldn't bring her dad back.

"Yeah," She finally responded, "Can you guys wait out here?"

"Sure. If you change your mind, just say the word." Tony told her, shoving his hands into his pockets. Temperance took a deep breath and turned to Thor, nodding. He opened the electronic locks on the door, and she went in.

Loki didn't look up at her right away, instead fiddling with his thumbs until she sat down in the chair across the table from him. When he did look up, it was with that same wolfish smile he always had plastered on his pale face.

"Here we are again," He said, leaning back in his chair comfortably, bringing his cuffed hands into his lap. Temperance didn't respond. "I suppose they've sent you to get something out of me again."

Temperance stared at him wordlessly, and he took in her appearance. Her hair was unruly, and her eyes were puffy with bags. She didn't sit nearly as tall as she had the first time they'd spoken - the confidence and the determination was absent. She didn't much care if he cooperated with her today, and he could sense it.

"On the helicarrier," she began softly. "You said that you know what I am."

Loki's eyes searched hers in the ensuing silence, putting the pieces together.

"And you don't," he replied, realizing the truth of why she'd come.

"I know that I'm Asgardian," She said, though he could see her watching his reaction closely for confirmation that it was true.

"Did my brother tell you that?" He asked. Temperance nodded. "And what else did he tell you?"

"Not much," She admitted. "He thought you might know more about it."

Loki's smirk grew at the admission.

"Of course I know more about it," He answered smoothly. "My brother couldn't recognize such magic if his life depended on it, and I speak from experience, believe me."

"Magic?" she echoed. Loki's smile grew again.

"I recognized the signature the moment you opened your mouth. Nobody wields magic like _that_ except Amora."

"Who is Amora?" Temperance asked, leaning forward in her chair the slightest bit.

"Your mother, I'm guessing. You're the spitting image," he said, adding as an afterthought "though, her hair wasn't as dark."

"And how do you know her?"

"We've had our dealings," He explained, "She's a bit of a black sheep in Asgard, too, to put it lightly. Pops up from time to time and causes all sorts of trouble. Though, I don't believe anyone's seen her in a while...how old are you?" He asked. His tone had taken on a taunting quality. He knew that this information was troublesome for her. Temperance refused to answer, gritting her teeth.

"Anyway, I suppose this is where she disappeared to after her banishment. The point is, you're not just any Asgardian."

Temperance raised an eyebrow, urging him to continue, and he did.

"You're a sorceress. An enchantress. A cunning minx who happens to have an affinity for magic." He told her. He wanted to get under her skin and burrow around, and he was succeeding. "Of course, you're only a shadow of what your mother could do. Your magic's weak, and your blood's been tainted with migardian rubbish. Your father's obviously -"

Loki was interrupted as the metal table, which Temperance had been gripping hard from underneath, flipped to his right and hurtled into the wall with a loud crash. He glanced at the now empty space between them. It had been bolted to the floor. Temperance had risen from her seat and was towering over him threateningly, her fists clenched. She forced herself to utter the words as calmly as she could.

"My father is dead. Thanks to you."

Loki's eyebrows furrowed the tiniest bit as he was confronted more personally by the consequences of his actions, but she didn't stick around to see it, immediately turning around to press the door buzzer and make her exit.

* * *

After her conversation with Loki, Temperance went right back to locking herself in her apartment whenever she wasn't dealing with her father's arrangements. The team agonized over what to do about it. The Avengers had made the decision to go their separate ways, but none of them felt good about leaving while Temperance was heartbroken, despondent, and confused about her identity. Thor even returned to earth after delivering Loki and the tesseract to Asgard, insisting that he spend an extra few weeks helping to get Temperance sorted out. He was, after all, her only connection to Asgard.

One week after her father's memorial service, and two weeks after the attack on Manhattan, they managed to get her to Stark Tower again. Stark had been working on renovations and repairs, and had insisted that she come over to look at something he'd developed. She agreed, knowing that she would eventually have to come back to work anyway.

"What is this?" Temperance asked, looking around at the large open room with matted floors. The entire team was waiting inside, and Temperance wondered briefly why they were all still in New York.

"This is our new training room. Well, floor." Tony answered.

"It's...nice." Temperance replied, not completely able to feign interest.

"Well, we didn't just bring you here to see it." He told her. She glanced hesitantly around the group.

"It's time to figure out what you can do." Nat said.

"I really don't think -" Temp began, crossing her arms over her stomach.

"Temperance, I've gotta tell you - I don't think you're doing your dad any favors by locking yourself away and denying who you are." Tony told her. "If you don't want to do _this,_ that's fine. But you've got to find a way to keep living."

Temperance chewed on the inside of her cheek, willing herself not to cry as she considered his words. She had been actively repressing the information that Loki had given her. Every moment that she thought about that stuff instead of mourning her father felt like a betrayal. But she wasn't alone in her apartment anymore, and she wouldn't be able to ignore it forever.

"I can try," she said after a while.

"Good," Tony said, throwing an affectionate arm around her shoulders. "It'll be good for you, I promise. And you can still wear yoga pants every day."

Temperance ignored the not-so-subtle jab and let him guide her to the center of the room. Thor and Natasha followed, and Steve, Clint, and Bruce stood off to the side, watching.

"Does _everybody_ have to be here for this?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"They all want to help." Thor said. "We're going to put you through a number of tests."

"Tests?" Temp echoed.

"Yeah," Tony jumped in, "Later, Bruce and I are going to hook you up to some machines and see what we can learn about your make-up and what happens when you're being _persuasive."_

Temperance sighed at the thought of being poked and prodded by Tony and Bruce.

"Right now," Thor began, "We're going to see where your natural affinities lie."

"My natural affinities?" Temp repeated.

"Is there an echo in here?" Tony quipped, earning a glare from her. " _There_ she is!" he exclaimed triumphantly, glad to have finally gotten some kind of reaction from her.

"Every Asgardian has their own special affinities," Thor explained. He was wearing training clothes as well, his hair pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck.

"Like the strength and durability?" Temp asked.

"No, that's just your physiology. These are abilities - more like talents." Nat interjected. They'd obviously already been discussing this for a while. If Temp had to guess, Nat was probably the one who had masterminded this whole intervention to get her out of her apartment.

"So what kind of abilities are we talking about?" Temperance asked as Tony shoved a water bottle into her hands.

"Well, there's horsemanship," Thor began. Temp sent Nat an incredulous look.

"We won't test that one right now." She interjected as Thor continued to list off abilities on his fingers.

"There's combat, marksmanship, weapons proficiency, allspeak-"

Tony continued to pester her about the bottle in her hand, so she took a drink of it, giving him a silencing look.

"What affinity did her mother have?" Nat asked with furrowed eyebrows. This brought Temp's attention back to the matter at hand.

"Amora, as you know," Thor addressed Temperance, "was a master of persuasion, particularly when it came to the manipulation of men. She was also highly skilled in all matters related to physical pleasure."

Temperance choked on her water, burying her mouth in the crook of her elbow to cover her coughs. Thor, oblivious to her discomfort, reached out to give her a helpful pat on the back.

"I think we'll save _that_ one for another day, too." Tony said, "although, as a quick aside, I _would_ like to know how you know that."

"Everyone in Asgard knows that," Thor replied with a casual shrug, "It's common knowledge."

"Alright, well, let's stick to what's most relevant for now. Combat." Steve said, earning a thankful nod from Temperance.

"Right," Nat said, "We saw a little bit of natural instinct from you during the invasion, but I wanna see how far that extends. Asgardians are supposed to be a warrior race. Steve, why don't you help us out?" She called. Steve came over, and Tony and Thor stepped off to the side.

"Him?" Temp asked. "Why not you?"

"He packs a harder punch." Nat answered with a smirk as she backed away from the pair.

"Exactly," Temp said, exasperated. "I should start with something ea-"

Temp was cut off as Steve's fist came flying at her. She pivoted to the side, just barely leaning away from it in time.

"Nice reflex!" Clint called out from the sidelines, impressed. Steve delivered a side hook next, and she ducked under it, backing up as he advanced on her.

"Stop!" She growled, frustrated.

"Don't stop!" Tony called. Steve tried to hit her once more, and when she dodged it, he stuck out his foot and tripped her.

"I can't believe you're helping him bully me. Bitter ninety-year-old man." Temp grumbled from the floor.

"Hey, he's trying to _help_ you," Tony argued, "And you're gonna hurt his feelings."

"I was talking about _you,_ Tony." She called as she climbed back to her feet. The team erupted in cheers as the insult landed, and Steve tried to suppress his laugh. Temp took the opportunity and swung at him. He dodged it, surprised.

"There you go!" Nat yelled, fully invested. "That's it. Get in one hit, Temp. Just one hit."

The two of them circled each other. Once again, Steve made the first move, and she dodged it.

"Quit holding back, Rogers." Clint called out.

"She's agile," Steve admitted. Temp shook her head. She was sure he could have hit her by now if he really wanted to. She tried to hit him a few more times, and he blocked every time. She noticed how he kept his arms up to protect his face and brought her own arms up so that she could do the same. Clint gave out a low whistle as he noticed her picking up on it. He glanced down at their feet.

"She's already adopted his footwork," He pointed out, a hint of disbelief in his tone. Temp had tuned the others out, focused closely on the rhythm of the fight. She decided to pull back and let him advance on her, since she couldn't get past his blocks.

He moved in quickly, and as she dodged, she realized that his right-hand swings left him open. The next time he struck with his right fist, she pivoted to the side and grabbed his arm, yanking it forward to throw him off his balance. As his upper half leaned forward, her leg came up to meet it in a swift kick to the abdomen. Not wanting to give him a chance to recover, she immediately followed up with a downward swing to his jaw. She hadn't expected to knock him to the floor, and she gasped when he rolled over to reveal that his lip was bleeding. The others were whooping and hollering in the background.

"I'm sorry! Are you okay?" She asked, helping him up. He laughed.

"Next time, we fight for real." He said.

"I told you to stop going easy on her." Clint said.

"How do you feel?" Nat asked Temperance. She was already eyeing the table set up on the other side of the room.

"Is that a sword?" She asked eagerly, walking over to it. Tony and Nat shared a relieved look and a smile. Temperance Ward was officially on her feet again.

* * *

Temperance was pretty good with a sword, better with daggers, and absolute rubbish with a bow and arrow. Shooting with a pistol turned out to be a lot more difficult than a large chituari gun, and shooting bullets was much harder than shooting large beams of energy. Natasha had been incredibly patient with her bad aim, but Clint was having more trouble. He ran a hand over his face as he watched her miss the target for the fourth time in a row.

"I told you, your elbow is too high."

"Okay, I'm trying." Temperance replied, her voice rising in frustration. Pulling the bow string back properly required her to tense up a lot of muscles, and her arms were still sore from swinging a heavy sword around, not to mention the times that Thor had clocked her in the ribs with his own fake sword. He hadn't gone nearly as easy on her as Steve had. "This is obviously not one of my affinities."

"Why don't we take a break, and you can visit Stark and Banner down in the lab." Natasha suggested. The two men had excused themselves to go and prepare her 'tests' about an hour ago. Temperance sighed - she didn't like being evaluated in front of everybody, but they would never rest until they knew what she could do, and if she had to do it, she'd rather get it all over with now.

* * *

"Okay, now tell her to put her hand on her head," Bruce said. Temperance was currently sitting across from Nat in a glass cell that Tony had built in the center of the room. Bruce and Tony were speaking to her through an earpiece - they had decided that the test results would be more accurate if the person being 'persuaded' couldn't hear all of the commentary. Both women had what felt like a thousand electrodes stuck to their bodies, the readings for which appeared on a series of monitors that Tony and Bruce were watching closely. Thor, Clint, and Steve stood behind them, trying and failing to make sense of the readings themselves.

"Put your hand on your head." Temperance told Nat, staring intently into the woman's eyes.

"No." Nat said. Temperance could hear the men groaning through the earpiece, and she shot them a reproachful glare.

"Think hard about it," Tony told her, and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Wait, I have a better idea." She said. The men leaned forward in their seats as Temp focused hard on Nat again. There was a long, tense moment as everyone waited. " _Simon says_ put your hand on your head."

Everyone groaned again. "Come on, Temp, you're not taking this seriously." Clint said, leaning forward to speak into the mic. Of course she wasn't taking it seriously - she still hadn't fully bought into the persuasion theory. In fact, she hadn't bought into it at all. She turned back to Nat without arguing - the team was trying to help her, after all. She was quiet for a long time, and the rest of them went silent as well, not wanting to break her concentration.

"Touch your chin," She told Nat, trying to surprise her with the command change. Nat shifted the slightest bit, but shook her head, instead moving to clasp her hands together. Temperance's eyes narrowed when she felt it.

The sensation was faint and difficult to pinpoint; she'd certainly never noticed it before, but it was there. It felt like a cord that extended from Natasha was whipping around in front of her, but as quickly as it appeared, it was miles away. Having noticed it, she felt the insatiable urge to reach out with her mind and tug on it - _hard._

"Maybe we should make her medita-" Tony was saying in her earpiece.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up," She interrupted him quickly, glaring hard at Natasha as she attempted to get it back.

"I said, touch your chin." She repeated. Natasha's eyes narrowed and Temperance felt the cord again. Her mind practically dove for it, and for a glorious, triumphant moment, she thought she had grabbed hold of it, but it slipped away again and disappeared.

"Damn it!" She exclaimed, falling back against her chair in defeat.

"Woah, hold up!" Bruce said, "Try that again."

Temperance put a hand on her forehead - she was exhausted and the frustration of failure now had her at her wit's end. She didn't want to do this anymore. "There's no point. It's not working. She didn't even move!"

"No," Tony replied, looking down at the readings, "but she wanted to."

Temperance looked back at Natasha, who gave the barest of smiles.


	8. Chapter 8

**This is more of an interlude now that we are moving into the next phase of the story. Expect a time jump (probably bigger than you think!) in the next chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter Eight**

Tony had explained the readings to her as well as he could (the jumping lines indicated the increased brain activity in the person being influenced, yadda yadda), but the truth was, he and Bruce couldn't actually tell her anything about _how her abilities worked._ It was a wearying subject for Temperance, and, since someone working in the lobby of Stark Tower had overheard and leaked the information to the media, it couldn't be ignored. She had been staying at Stark Tower for about a week now, partially because the media was so interested in her, and partially because the team was still concerned about her being alone.

 _Siren._ That's what they had taken to calling her in the news reports. Just saying the name left a bitter taste in her mouth, and she wished there was a way to erase it from the public consciousness. She knew, though, that it would be like a childhood nickname - once it took hold, it was impossible to control, impossible to erase.

She wondered, against her better judgement, what her mother looked like. She must have been beautiful, but the picture that Thor and Loki had painted of her wasn't a pretty one. She had been deviant. Manipulative. _Banished._ Temperance had taken to thinking of her in the past tense, though no time frame existed in which she'd actually known the woman. Nobody had seen her in a long time, and Thor had reasoned that she was either dead or lightyears away, living a new life and making new mischief elsewhere. It was just as well, for Temperance, to think of her as dead.

At first, it had bothered her to think of what had possessed her kind and gentle-hearted father to love such a woman. Then, thinking about what Thor had said, it made her sick to think about. _A master of persuasion, particularly when it came to the manipulation of men._ The picture Thor had painted was that of a woman who used people without hesitation - who charmed them into servitude and then disposed of them the moment they became inconvenient. Is that what had happened to her father? Had he no choice in the matter? Her chest clenched when she imagined this scenario, knowing that her father had never treated her differently for it - had always shown his daughter the tenderest affection. And she had the same ability, the same dark potential, hiding in her all this time.

The team readily sensed that this was a touchy subject for her, and Tony had suggested turning their attention to her physical qualities and abilities. He had attached wireless electrodes to her and forced her to spar hand-to-hand with Natasha, and sword-to-sword with Thor. Exercising her combat affinity wasn't easy. The observation phase took time; she couldn't pick up on a person's fighting style and start anticipating their next moves until about halfway through the fight, which meant that she always spent the first half getting her ass mercilessly kicked. Her form was still sloppy, but she was learning quickly. By the end of her first fight with a person, she could just barely hold her own. By the time she'd fought with the same person multiple times, she could be a worthy adversary. Natasha was the one exception. She was an innovator and knew how to use her body in clever ways to inflict harm. Just when Temperance thought she sensed a pattern, Nat would adapt and come up with something new to get around her ability.

The readings for these tests still meant nothing to Temperance, but they were apparently gold for Tony, who had immediately begun designing a protocol in his suits to help him analyze combat styles and compile defensive responses.

Temperance sat on the couch in the common area of the floor she'd been staying on at Stark Tower. The sun was setting in the floor-to-ceiling picture window behind her, but she didn't turn around to watch it. She couldn't bring herself to look at the damaged buildings, and she knew her eyes would dart to that gap northwest of here where her father's firm used to jut sharply into the sky and reflect the sunlight.

"Dinner's here," Thor spoke as he walked down the two shallow steps that led into the living space, "Stark ordered out."

Temperance nodded with a close-lipped smile and a "thanks," but didn't move to get up. Thor watched her for a moment before coming to sit next to her. She shifted, pulling her legs up underneath her. He would be going back to Asgard tomorrow to deal with his own affairs, and Nat, Clint, and Steve would be going their separate ways soon after. Tonight was the last night they would all be together for a while.

"You can come with me, you know," Thor said. "To Asgard. You would be welcomed there."

Temperance smiled and patted him on the knee gratefully, "I appreciate the offer, but I can't leave New York. Not right now."

Thor didn't argue. He had been hesitant to offer, knowing that the shock of traveling to another world was probably too much after what she'd already been through in the past few weeks. She needed time, that much was clear. It was also clear that she was not comfortable with her powers of persuasion. Thor had given his own theory as to how the abilities worked.

When the conditions were right (a stressful situation, an emotional response, etc.) Temperance subconsciously cast "spells" on people. The cord, he said, was probably the person's will responding to, and fighting against, the enticement. If she grabbed it and pulled, she could bring them into line. If not, they slipped away, and everything was normal.

It wasn't a terrible theory, Temperance thought - if she believed in magic. Still, regardless of the _source_ of the power, she thought he was probably right about the mechanics of it. It was somewhat comforting, knowing that she had some semblance of control. She couldn't control her subconscious coaxing, but she could choose not to "pull the cord." Thor had encouraged her to hone her abilities better, but Temperance had resolved not to use them at all.

"You're not her, you know." Thor said, pulling her from her thoughts. "You're nothing like her."

"We don't know that." Temperance said quietly.

" _I_ do." He assured her.

"You don't understand," She said, turning to face him more fully. "There's an urge that

comes with it. A temptation. I may not be like her now, but I could _become_ her."

"Then become something different," he told her, as if it was the simplest solution in the world. "Who would you rather become?"

Temperance turned to look over her shoulder at the damaged skyline of Manhattan. The sun had just disappeared behind it in a sea of pinks and purples. As if pulled by a magnet, her eyes drifted northwest, and she bit the inside of her cheek. There was no shimmering reflection, no jutting corner. Just a gap, begging to be filled.

* * *

When Temperance finally caught a moment alone with Tony, it was at two o' clock in the morning. He'd been sitting in the bar area of the lounge room for a while now, and Temperance knew that he'd gotten about as much sleep as she had since the attack. She didn't know what he'd seen in that wormhole, but it had certainly affected him in a profound way. Her stomach sank when she thought about how far out of his way he'd gone to watch out for her and comfort her in the last few weeks.

"Pondering the secrets of the universe?" She asked, announcing her presence as she sat next to him at the bar.

"Trying," He quipped, pushing off his elbows and leaning back in his seat so that he could look at her, "I had almost solved time travel, but you interrupted, so there goes that."

Temperance chortled, "We'll just have to do without." She joked. Her smile fell a little bit as the melancholy settled back in. It sure _would_ be nice to go back to a few weeks ago. She pushed the thought away - it wouldn't matter. Things happen exactly as they should. She needed to believe that. "How are you holding up?"

Tony was perplexed by the question - after all, he hadn't lost anyone. His eyebrows furrowed and he nodded, "I have bruises that I'm starting to think are permanent, but other than that, I'm alright."

Temp nodded, too, though she didn't believe him.

"What about you?" He asked, watching her closely, "What's been going on in that head of yours?"

Temperance was silent for a minute, and just when Tony was certain she wouldn't respond, she blurted, "I want to rebuild Manhattan."

It certainly wasn't what Tony had expected her to say, and he wasn't exactly sure what she meant by it, but there was a familiar spark in her eye that had been missing lately, and he jumped at the chance to keep it there. "Okay. What do you have in mind?"

"We make a division of Stark Enterprises that exists solely for rebuilding and reparations," She explained as Tony poured her a glass of wine. "I would work with the city on plans, supervise the use of the funds, manage the publicity aspect - you wouldn't have to do anything."

She could see the gears working in Tony's brain, "Would we need to manage the building ourselves? Move into construction?"

"No, we would use contractors," Temp explained, taking a sip of her wine. "My dad knew pretty much every contractor in town. I can think of five off the top of my head right now who would definitely work with us. And these guys are good - they know how to stick to a schedule."

Tony smiled softly as he watched her piece through the plans, completely in her element. "I think if I talk to the city, I can probably get them to contract Ward & Crantz to do some of the building plans, too. My dad's house has dozens of sketches and floor plans that I haven't even seen before."

Tony and Pepper had been surprised when Temperance had left Stark Tower earlier that day and hadn't asked too many questions - after all, all of the other Avengers had gone their separate ways earlier in the week. Why shouldn't Temp disappear for a few hours to be alone as well? Tony was surprised, however, to hear that she had gone to her father's house to look through his things. He made a mental note to offer his and Pepper's assistance for next time.

"I have to say, it sounds like a solid idea, Temp," He said, and he saw her smile, fully, for the first time in weeks. "There's only one problem."

"What's that?" Temperance asked, her brow furrowing.

"I'll have to find another assistant," He said with a teasing smile.

"You do go through those pretty quickly, huh?"

"Yeah, well, they keep promoting themselves. What can you do?" He replied with a shrug.

* * *

Temperance, Pepper, and Tony went to city hall and negotiated their involvement with the clean-up of New York the very next day, emerging with an agreement that pleased Temp well enough. City government had been receptive to the idea - though the attack wasn't the fault of the Avengers, their involvement in the cleanup made sense after their involvement in the conflict. Already, some media outlets were questioning whether the Avengers cared at all about the mess they had left behind, and the mayor appreciated that Stark Enterprises was willing to step up and ease those doubts.

When the work started, Temperance oversaw Stark Enterprises' involvement in every aspect. She organized contracts with local contractors, solicited designs and feedback from her father's design firm (and his personal collections), and managed all spending. She worked with the city of New York to develop an ideal timeline for the revitalization efforts and kept a firm hand with all contractors to ensure that the schedule was adhered to. Temperance became the face of revival efforts in New York City, and the message of her philanthropic efforts could be best summed-up in the televised speech that she was asked to give once at a gala celebrating the inauguration of a hospital in midtown that had been rebuilt quickly, with high priority:

" _After I learned that I lost my father, a very good friend told me that I had to find a way to keep living. That seemed impossible at the time, especially with so much destruction right in front of us. But he was right. Heroes aren't just people who win fights and save lives. Heroes are people who get up again - who rise when the dust settles and find a way to continue living their lives. A large community of heroes has come together to make all of this possible, and it's my hope that these changes will be embraced as a way of remembering, as well as a reminder of the hope that lies ahead."_

* * *

About a year into Temperance's new work, S.H.I.E.L.D. decided that they wanted to get involved. The proposal was that Stark Enterprises join forces with their department of Damage Control to ensure that all alien technology and weaponry that they had found (and continued to find) during the clean-up process was appropriately handled.

Temperance was adamant about her disapproval, but in the end, Tony's appeal for diplomacy won out. They were wary of S.H.I.E.L.D. after the incident with the nuclear warhead, and Tony had argued that, if Temperance was able to oversee Damage Control, she'd at least be privy to what they were doing. The merger had meant that many of the contractors Temperance had hired were laid off, and she had itched so badly to meddle with the people at S.H.I.E.L.D. more than she should.

Now that she had a better sense of when her abilities were activating, they were difficult to ignore. When a person was susceptible to influence, it was as if Temperance was a cat, and someone was dangling a feather on a string, back and forth across her face, so close it tickled. In fact, part of the hardball, no-compromise persona she was achieving in the business world was due to the fact that she would often cut people off and abruptly walk away without explanation in order to avoid the temptation. She was determined not to use this advantage, ever, and though the temptation was almost always present, it soon became a normal part of her daily grind. On some days, when she didn't interact much with anybody, it was almost - _almost -_ possible to forget that she was even different. But then those invisible cords would tap on her shoulders again, and she would remember everything. The niggling question would form in the back of her mind, _when will the world need the Avengers again?_

It would only be a matter of time before the call came, and when it did, she knew she would have no choice but to answer.


	9. Chapter 9

**Alright, buckle up, y'all - we are diving right into the next thing! Apologies in advance for any chunks of dialogue that feel regurgitated - trying to get some of the discourse out of the way early on.**

* * *

 **Chapter Nine**

 **2016 - New York City**

Temperance descended the steps of the Stark Enterprises jet that had just landed on the private tarmac at JFK, with Happy Hogan hot on her heels.

"We are going to be late," Happy announced, gesturing toward the black car that they'd be taking from the airport to the Avengers facility in upstate New York.

" _He's_ the one who wants to meet with _us_ \- he'll wait." Temp said, sliding into the backseat when Happy opened the door for her. He got behind the wheel and rolled down the partition between the front and back seats so they could continue talking while he drove. Happy was generally frazzled these days. Splitting his time between Tony, Pepper, and Temperance - who were always heading in different directions - was more than a full time job. Tony had, of course, hired more people on board in the last few years to help out, but Happy was adamant about being involved with everything, even when it meant stretching himself too thin.

"Hap, why don't we get someone else to drive? You barely got any sleep on the jet." Temperance said, catching his eyes in the rear view mirror.

"There's no time - besides, I'm fine." Happy insisted. Temp sighed.

"Alright, well, let's at least pull through a drive-through." She suggested.

Happy had spent the last few days in Lagos with her, following her around to her meetings, helping her with everything, arranging her security, and just generally keeping her company. Temperance had been back and forth between New York and Sokovia quite a bit since Ultron, and with the recent incident in Nigeria, Lagos had been added to her itinerary. Happy, noticing that she was growing weary under the stress of all this travel, had begun arranging to go with her whenever he could.

 _She's still just a kid,_ he'd reminded Tony. _Someone's gotta watch out for her._

But Temperance Ward wasn't a kid anymore - not so much, anyway. The twenty-six-year-old, having been through two large-scale, earth-threatening disasters in less than five years, felt anything but young. The moment New York had truly begun to get back on their feet, the disaster in D.C. had thrown a wrench in things, and then Sokovia had fallen and the world was in need of more humanitarian efforts than ever.

"What do you think it's about?" Happy asked, noticing her far-off gaze in the rear view mirror. "The meeting?"

"I don't know," Temperance answered honestly. She hoped that the Avengers weren't being enlisted for another impending worldwide disaster. When S.H.I.E.L.D. had fallen, the team had come back together to retrieve Loki's scepter, which had ultimately led them to the discovery of the Maximoff twins and the creation of Ultron. Because robots had no organic minds, emotions, or will to play with, she had simply relied on her strength, speed, and agility in the Battle of Sokovia. Many of them had chosen to stick together after Ultron and continued to complete missions under Steve's leadership, but Temperance had recused herself from most of that activity. Steve would've liked to have her at the Avengers compound, she knew, but he hadn't pushed the matter. Generally, when she got the call, it was because something had gone wrong. This had been the case three days ago in Lagos.

* * *

" _She hasn't said a word," Steve murmured, leading Temperance to the doorway of the room in the American embassy where Wanda had been laying low. Temperance, who had been helping the others at the site of the accident to put out the flames, was dirty from head to toe and bone-weary with exhaustion. The building continued to reignite every time the wind shifted, and Temperance had called in a team of agents from Damage Control to help coordinate the emergency response and help identify the dead._

" _I'll talk to her," Temperance whispered, her chest aching as she watched the miserable woman sit doubled-over in her chair with her head in her hands. She couldn't imagine how she must feel - it was Temperance's worst fear, after all. Steve excused himself to give them some privacy, and Temperance took a seat next to Wanda. She didn't say anything for a long moment._

" _Is it alright if I hold you?" She asked quietly. Wanda didn't respond, didn't even look up. Just when Temperance thought she wouldn't, the redhead nodded, her shoulders shaking as a sob escaped. Temp scooted closer, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and rubbing soothing circles on the girl's back._

" _I know," she whispered. She wanted to say it was okay, but she knew it wasn't true and wasn't what Wanda wanted to hear._

" _It happened so fast," Wanda gasped, her face still buried in her hands. Temperance leaned in close, resting her head against Wanda's. She couldn't see her friend's face through the curtains of their hair, but she could imagine what it looked like. Temp had been there when Wanda lost her brother - she had recognized the grief on Wanda's face then, and she recognized it now in the tense line of her shoulders._

" _I know," Temp repeated, squeezing her tighter._

 _Later, when Steve appeared again in the doorway, Temperance nodded for him to join them._

" _You need to get her back to New York. Tonight." She told him._

" _No, I have to stay," Wanda insisted, rubbing at the tear tracks on her face. "I have to help."_

" _We need to get you out of here now in case the Nigerian government decides to make you stay." She told her friend. Steve frowned._

" _Would they do that?" He asked, crossing his arms._

" _They're going to want answers," Temp said, "And I'd rather we give them with Wanda at a safe distance. She's here as a favor right now, but the embassy doesn't have the power to protect her if things go south," she explained, reminding him that Wanda wasn't an American citizen. Temp and Steve finished the conversation with their eyes. He clearly didn't like the idea of leaving, either, but Wanda had gotten in this situation to protect him, and now he needed to protect her._ I'll handle it, _Temp's eyes said._

" _She's right, Wanda. Let's get you to the jet." He caved, putting a hand on the distraught girl's shoulder._

* * *

"Welcome back, kid," Tony said when she climbed out of the back seat of the car. "You look like hell." She was surprised to see him waiting outside to intercept her, and she could tell immediately that something was off with him.

"What's wrong?" She asked, ignoring the insult as they walked inside together. Happy had sped most of the way there, and they had actually managed to arrive a few minutes early.

"You'll find out soon enough," He said, putting a hand on her back and ushering her toward the team room, "Everybody's in here."

Temperance entered the room to find that everyone was already gathered around the table.

"There's our girl," Rhodey greeted congenially, causing Temperance to smile. Rhodey had always liked her, and the feeling was mutual - something about him made him a particularly comforting presence to her, and she relaxed a little bit, knowing he was here for whatever they were about to discuss.

Rhodey, Nat, and Steve sat on one side of the table, and Vision, Wanda, and Sam on the other. Tony moved to sit in the corner, away from the table, and Temperance eyed him quizzically before taking a seat next to Sam, across from Steve.

"Hello, Temperance," Vision greeted formally. Temp returned it with a small wave and a nod. She had just seen Steve, Wanda, Sam, and Nat in Lagos, though there hadn't been ample time to catch up, of course. Nat had stayed in Lagos with her an extra day or two to help out, but had eventually been called away on other business. Temperance leaned forward to make eye contact with Wanda, who mustered a close-lipped smile. She wished she could sit next to her, but banished the thought in favor of focusing on the matter at hand.

"So, are you going to tell us what this is about, or do we have to guess?" Nat asked Tony. Temp turned to look at him. He didn't respond, but glanced toward the doorway. Everyone shifted to see that Thaddeus Ross, the Secretary of State, had joined them. Temp straightened in her chair and sent another wary glance at Tony. This couldn't be good. Her eyebrows furrowed with silent indignation at being kept out of the loop.

"Thank you all for meeting with me today," Ross said, coming to stand at the head of the table. Steve exchanged a look with Temperance across the table that clearly said ' _like we had any choice.'_ Ross sighed, before clasping his hands in front of him and swinging as if he were holding a golf club. "Five years ago, I dropped right in the middle of my backswing. Turned out it was the best round of my life, because after thirteen hours of surgery and a triple bypass, I found something thirty years in the army never taught me."

Temp's eyes met Nat's next, and she looked just as annoyed with the metaphor as Temp was. No matter how much Temperance worked in negotiations and public policy, she would never get used to the patronizing way that men with political power spoke to her.

"Perspective." Ross continued, revealing the one thing his heart attack had taught him. Temperance crossed her arms and idly wondered if he'd practiced this speech on the way over from D.C. "The world owes the Avengers an unpayable debt. You have fought for us, protected us, risked your lives...but while a great many people see you as heroes, there are some who would prefer the word _vigilantes._ "

Temperance's gaze lowered to the table. She wasn't surprised by the subject of this discussion - she had known for a while that it would have to come eventually - but somehow, she still wasn't ready for it.

"And what word would you use, Mr. Secretary?" Nat asked, adopting the same patronizing tone.

"How about dangerous?" Ross answered unflinchingly, "what would you call a group of US-based enhanced individuals who routinely ignore sovereign borders and inflict their will wherever they choose, and who, frankly, seem unconcerned about what they leave behind?"

The tension in the room rose to a peak, and there was a long silence as everyone considered his words. Temperance felt a prickle of shame at the words. What he said was true - she knew this better than anyone, as the person who had spent the last few days scraping and pleading with the Nigerian government to keep in good standing with them. They hadn't known the Avengers were operating in Lagos - hadn't agreed to accept the collateral risk involved with the team's agenda. Temperance had worn herself out trying to prove to them that the risk to Lagos would've been greater had the Avengers _not_ acted.

As much as she disliked him, Temperance understood the place Ross was coming from. The U.S. couldn't be expected to answer for the Avengers' actions. Nobody could be expected to, which meant that nobody was responsible. And if Temperance had learned one thing in her time working with damage control, it was that when the dust cleared, people always wanted to know who would be held responsible. Ross stepped aside and a map appeared on the screen. Temperance didn't have to look twice to recognize the pinpoints on it.

"New York," Ross said as the map zoomed in and began showing footage from the Battle of New York. Hulk smashed into buildings, soldiers fired machine guns, people ducked and ran, screaming. The hair on the back of Temperance's neck stood up as she watched one of the giant leviathans soar across the camera shot. Watching it brought thoughts of her father flooding in, and she tried to push them away, wanting to remain emotionally neutral for this conversation. She glanced at Tony in the corner to see that he was already watching her somberly.

"Washington D.C." Ross continued, drawing Temperance's eyes back to the screen. A piece of the helicarrier hit the ground, and people scattered away from the collision, terrified. D.C. had been a difficult one. Temperance hadn't been involved in the conflict, and when she was called in to help mediate the disaster relief, there was no team. Damage Control, who she'd been working alongside to recover New York, had been run by S.H.I.E.L.D., and S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer existed. She and Nat had scrambled to assemble a small team of trustworthy former S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to continue doing the important work, and that was the year that Temperance had reluctantly become the head of Damage Control. The American government had been willing, at the time, to join with Stark Enterprises to help make sure the venture succeeded and provide her with more people.

"Sokovia." Ross said, and Temperance looked away. She didn't need to see this one. The images had been burned in her brain. She could still remember feeling the city rise under her feet, thinking with horror about how many would die, how many would be missing, how many would be homeless.

"Lagos." Ross said finally. Temperance looked back up to see the images playing on the screen, ending on a close-up of a woman lying dead in the rubble. She saw Wanda look away sharply, jarred by the sight.

"Okay, that's enough," Steve told Ross. The images disappeared from the screen.

"For the past four years, you've operated with unlimited power and no supervision. That's an arrangement the governments of the world can no longer tolerate." Ross told them. Steve straightened, clearly bothered by the news. Temperance had to (begrudgingly) admire Ross at least a little bit for volunteering to be the messenger on this one. "But I think we have a solution."

The aid who had slipped into the room midway through Ross's lecture handed him a thick manuscript, and Ross laid it on the table, notably passing it straight to Wanda. "The Sokovia Accords. Approved by 117 countries, it states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization. Instead, they'll operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel, only when and if that panel deems it necessary."

 _117 countries. A U.N. panel._ Temperance felt blindsided by this information, but tried not to show it, even though Ross was staring right at her as he said it. The government had always sought to discuss concerns related to the Avengers with her, and she had been a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. for three years now. This shouldn't be the first time she was hearing of the Sokovia Accords.

"The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place. I feel we've done that." Steve said.

"Tell me, Captain. Do you know where Thor and Banner are right now?" Ross asked, trying to drive his point home. "If I misplaced a couple of 30-ton nukes, you can bet there would be consequences."

"Well, they're not Nukes, they're people. And they're not _misplaced_ ," Temperance argued. She had been worried sick about them ever since they disappeared, and she didn't appreciate that he talked about them like objects - especially weapons. Thor had become one of her closest friends on the team during his visits to Earth after the Battle of New York and during the Ultron conflict. He wouldn't hurt a fly unless it was to protect something or someone he cared about. The same went for Bruce, though she would concede that Hulk was less ruly. Still, she had managed to control him well enough - it was the only way she would use her ability, and only with Bruce's express permission. She tried not to grab the packet too eagerly when it was finally passed to her and began flipping through it.

"Compromise," Ross continued, "Reassurance. That's how the world works. Believe me, this is the middle ground."

"So, there are contingencies," Rhodey jumped in, gesturing toward the packet Temp was holding. _Ross could have at least come with enough copies for everyone,_ Temperance thought wryly, ignoring Rhodey's request.

"Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the accords. Talk it over."

 _Three days?_ That was barely enough time to even read the accords. They were being ambushed and hog-tied, and Temperance knew the result would not be good. Steve and Sam were already fidgeting in their seats. Her stomach sank.

"And if we come to a decision that you don't like?" Nat asked as Ross and his aid exited.

"Then you retire." Ross answered. He stopped as he passed by Temperance. "We appreciate everything you've done to help mediate this problem in the past," He told her, lowering his voice, "But you can understand why the U.N. couldn't have someone of your ability involved in this discussion."

It was like someone had punched her in the gut and knocked the wind out of her. She wasn't naive - she knew that people didn't trust her. All of the Avengers had been notoriously tight-lipped about _Siren_ ever since the rumors broke after the Battle of New York. Nobody had ever officially confirmed to the media or the government that she had _influence,_ but it didn't matter. The world believed it anyway.

The tension in the room spiked at Ross's last revelation, and Steve sat forward in his chair, prepared to jump to her defense, but Temperance shook her head discreetly, imploring him not to. Ross left the room, and they all exchanged wary looks. They had a decision to make.

* * *

"Secretary Ross has a congressional medal of honor," Rhodey argued, pointing an accusing finger at Sam, "That's one more than you have."

Temperance sat on the couch next to Nat. She had pulled her legs up into the seat and crossed them to make herself comfortable - she was going to be reading for a while. She flipped through the fourth page of the accords as Sam and Rhodey bickered in the background. Wanda, Vision, Tony, and Steve were also seated around the coffee table, thinking.

"You really wanna trust that guy, after the way he treated Temp?" Sam retorted, causing Rhodey to snort.

"This isn't about Ross, guys," Temp reminded them without looking up from the page. "It's about the accords."

"Okay, so let's say we agree to this thing. How long before they lojack us like a bunch of common criminals?" Sam argued. The two of them continued to bicker about it, and Temp tried to tune them out so that she wasn't reading the same sentence five times over.

"I have an equation," Vision spoke up, drawing everyone's attention. ""In the eight years since Mr. Stark announced himself as Iron Man, the number of known _enhanced persons_ has grown exponentially. And, during the same period, the number of potentially world-ending events has risen at a commensurate rate."

"You're saying it's our fault?" Steve asked, arms crossed.

"I'm saying there may be causality," Vision explained, "Our very strength invites challenge.

Challenge incites conflict. Conflict breeds catastrophe. Oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand."

"Boom," Rhodey said, earning an eye-roll from Sam.

"What do you think, Temperance?" Wanda asked quietly. Temperance glanced up to see the girl watching her.

"I think we need to know what's in this." Temperance said simply, raising the packet in her hand for emphasis before burying her nose in it again.

"Tony," Nat cut in, looking to the man who was half-laying in his chair with a hand thrown over his eyes. "You're being uncharacteristically non-hyperverbal."

"That's 'cause he's already made up his mind." Steve said. Temperance glanced up at this, her eyebrows furrowing. It was pretty obvious to her that Steve had made up his mind before Ross had even finished explaining the accords.

"Boy, you know me so well." Tony quipped, getting up and walking over the threshold to the kitchen. "Actually, I'm nursing an electromagnetic headache. That's what's going on, Cap. It's just pain. It's discomfort."

Temp paused from her reading to watch him fill a glass of water. She knew him well enough to know that it certainly wasn't just a headache.

"Who's putting coffee grounds in the disposal? Am I running a bed and breakfast for a biker gang?" He snapped, coming to lean against the kitchen island. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and laid it on the counter. An image of a young man projected from it, and everyone looked at it intently.

"Oh, that's Charles Spencer, by the way," Tony continued, "A great kid. A computer engineering degree, 3.6 GPA. Had a floor-level gig with Intel planned for the fall. But first, he wanted to put a few miles on his soul before he parked it behind a desk. See the world. Maybe be of service."

Temperance chewed the inside of her cheek, knowing where this story was leading.

"Charlie didn't want to go to Vegas or Fort Lauderdale, which is what I would do. He didn't go to Paris or Amsterdam, which sounds fun. He decided to spend his summer building sustainable housing for the poor. Guess where? Sokovia." Tony revealed. The atmosphere in the room seemed to drop with the weight of everyone's guilt.

"He wanted to make a difference, I suppose. I mean, we won't know, because we dropped a building on him while we were kicking ass." He said, popping an ibuprofen and washing it down with a swig of water. He came back to stand in front of them. "There's no decision-making process here. We need to be put in check. Whatever form that takes, I'm game. If we can't accept limitations - if we're boundary-less - we're no better than the bad guys."

Temperance found herself nodding and could feel the heat of Steve's stare on her as she did.

"Tony," He said, turning to him, "when someone dies on your watch, you don't give up."

"Who says we're giving up?" Tony retorted.

"We are if we're not taking responsibility for our actions."

Tony's arms uncrossed, and he spread them wide. "You're _not_ taking responsibility for your actions. You know who takes responsibility for your actions?" He ranted, pointing a finger in Temperance's direction. Temp sighed. "Her. _She_ does."

Some of them glanced in her direction, and the others looked at the floor, all of them looking a bit guilty. Tony, still worked up, continued, "Do you know what has to be done when an entire city gets wiped off the map? Where to even begin? How to help? Because she does. She _had to know_. At _25 years old_ , she had to know that. She's been following behind you, cleaning up your messes, for four years now."

"I know, and she _chose_ that role," Steve argued. "She didn't have to do that,"

"Would it make more sense if I left, since you're all talking about me like I'm not in the room?" Temperance cut in.

"Steve, this is the United Nations we're talking about. It's not the World Security Council. It's not S.H.I.E.L.D. It's not HYDRA," Rhodey said, trying to bring the discussion back on track.

"No, but it's run by people with agendas, and agendas change." Steve replied.

"That's good." Tony said, "That's why I'm here. When I realized what my weapons were capable of in the wrong hands, I shut it down and stopped manufacturing."

"Tony, you chose to do that." Steve reminded him.

"Because it was the right thing." Temperance retorted. She was quickly growing tired of the deflection of the _you chose_ argument. Temperance had chosen to take over Damage Control, yes, but only because _it had to be done._ In that sense, it wasn't much of a choice at all.

"If we sign this, we surrender our right to choose. What if this panel sends us somewhere we don't think we should go? What if there's somewhere we need to go, and they don't let us?" Steve continued. He turned to appeal to Temperance, "Temp, what if they make you use your influence? You choose every day not to abuse that power. Are you really willing to sign over your right to make that decision?"

"If that happens, then I'll retire," Temperance said. He was making a valid point, but it wasn't a dealbreaker for her. "But I'll still have a choice."

"That's not a choice, it's an ultimatum." Sam argued, coming up to stand behind Steve. "You're really gonna go against your own best interest? Just to support Stark?"

Something in Temp's expression darkened, and everyone in the room could sense the atmosphere change. She looked up at Sam from her place on the couch, "Compressive asphyxia."

Nobody responded, waiting for her to continue. "It's when the lungs can't expand because there's too much pressure on the torso. It's a form of suffocation."

Still, no one spoke, and even the air felt completely still.

"That's how my Dad died," She continued firmly, keeping unwavering eye contact with Sam. "He didn't die from the impact. He was alive, under the rubble, for a few minutes at least, probably wondering what had the sheer force to knock down one of the stablest architectures in New York City. And if you think I don't also wonder, _every_ _single day_ , what made that building fall, then you don't understand what we're talking about at all."

Nat placed a hand on Temp's knee, and Sam swallowed heavily; his eyes had turned apologetic. "So no, I'm not just _supporting Tony_ , and no, I'm not planning on making the decision based on _my own best interest."_

There was an uncomfortable silence, and they all just sat in it for a few moments.

"If we don't do this now, it's gonna be done _to_ us later," Tony spoke up finally. "That's the fact. That won't be pretty."

"You're saying they'll come for me," Wanda added morosely.

"We would protect you," Vision assured her. Nat leaned forward, finally ready to weigh in after hearing everyone's thoughts.

"Maybe Tony's right," She said. "If we have one hand on the wheel, we can still steer. If we take it off…"

Steve was noticeably troubled by the input. He had wanted Temp and Nat to side with him on this - he knew Temp wasn't a sure thing, after all the things she'd dealt with in Damage Control and with her father, but he had at least expected to have Nat as an ally.

"Aren't you the same woman who told the government to kiss her ass a few years ago?" Sam asked, having recovered from his misstep with Temperance.

"I'm just reading the terrain," Nat replied. "We have made some very public mistakes. We need to win their trust back."

"Focus up. I'm sorry, did I just mishear you, or did you agree with me?" Tony asked, putting a finger behind his ear. The two of them bickered back and forth for a minute until Steve cut them off by abruptly standing to his feet.

"I have to go," he mumbled, sulking as he walked out. They all exchanged looks, unsure where exactly they had landed. They sat quietly for a moment before beginning to disperse. Everyone filed out except for Tony, Temp, and Nat; Tony exchanged a glance with Nat before sitting down in the chair Steve had been occupying.

"Are you okay?" Nat asked quietly, watching Temp, who still sat rooted to the couch with the accords in her lap. Temp nodded.

"I'm fine. I just have a lot of reading to do before Vienna."

"Temp, you don't have to go." Tony told her.

"I want to." Temperance insisted. "The U.N. isn't getting rid of me that easily."

Tony smiled softly at that.

"I'll go with you," Nat said, placing a hand on her shoulder before getting up. She excused herself and Tony moved to sit in the seat next to Temperance on the couch.

"I'm sorry you didn't know sooner," He told her. Temp was quiet for what felt like a long time before sighing and looking up at him.

"It's okay." She said. "What happened at MIT?"

Tony wasn't prepared for the question, and sighed wearily, before settling into the back of the couch and telling her about his harrowing confrontation with Charles Spencer's mother.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

 **Vienna, Austria**

Temperance rolled to her side with a wince, coughing on the dust that rushed to make a home in her lungs every time she tried to catch her breath. She could see bright lights and the outlines of figures scrambling around her, but her sight was bleary, and her ears still rang from the proximity of the explosion. She buried her face in her arm, trying to cough the dust out of her lungs without sucking any more back in. When she felt a hand on her shoulder, she looked up from the crook of her arm to see Nat kneeling over her.

"Temp, can you hear me?" She was asking when the ringing in Temperance's ears subsided enough to make it out. "Are you hurt? Please don't be hurt."

Nat watched as Temp's eyes traveled around the room, unfocused and trying to piece together what had happened. Nat had watched in horror from her seat when the explosive went off. Temp, who had been standing off to the left of King T'Chaka, waiting for her turn to take the floor, had been blown back by the blast. She watched as Temp's eyes fell on King T'Chaka, who lay unresponsive on the ground a few yards away, his son desperately hunched over him.

"Come on, let's get you outside where you can breathe." She insisted, helping Temp up and turning her away from the sight.

* * *

Temp allowed Nat to guide her out of the building, and she watched as firefighters and other first responders rushed past to assess the damage. She'd been so close to T'Chaka. She wouldn't have survived, either, if she wasn't - well, _her._ T'Challa had been pushing past her, trying to warn them, trying to get to his father. If she'd caught on earlier, she might have been able to -

"Temp," Nat said, grabbing her attention. She'd been sitting on a bench outside of the Vienna International Centre while Nat made phone calls. Seeing her disheveled appearance, a paramedic had rushed up to her to inquire about her health, but she'd brushed him off, telling him that people needed help inside. Right now, Nat was holding a phone out to her. "It's Tony."

Her own phone had been buzzing frantically in her pocket for the last few minutes, but she hadn't pulled it out yet, her mind trying to sort through what had happened and what needed to be done. She didn't move to take the phone from Nat immediately, but Nat was persistent. Temp took it and brought it to her ear.

"Hello?" She rasped, her throat still raw from all the coughing.

"Temp?" Tony asked warily, "Are you alright?"

"I'm -" She began, but she paused when her voice didn't come out as steadily as she'd intended, clearing her throat, "I'm fine. What have you heard? Do you know what's happening?"

She heard Tony sigh on the other side of the line.

"Looks like the Winter Soldier," he told her, "they're pulling footage now."

"Barnes?" She asked, her brows furrowing. She'd never encountered the man, but she'd certainly heard a lot about him, having dealt with the damage he caused in D.C.

"Yeah," Tony said, "Look, Temp, this one really isn't a job for damage control, okay? Besides, we haven't exactly ironed out what the accords mean for damage control. Our hands are tied now that we've signed. What I need you to do now is sit tight with Nat and wait to hear what our next move is."

"Got it," Temp replied, nodding although he couldn't see it. Speaking to Tony and developing a game plan was making her feel more like herself again as the shock wore off. "Have you heard from Steve?"

There was a long pause. "No."

Temperance sighed. She knew the next conflict would be a nightmare to navigate with the team being split on the accords, but she hadn't expected to have to deal with it _this_ soon, "Alright, just keep me updated, okay? I'll keep an eye on things here."

"Temp," He said, his tone warning.

"I'm _not_ going to call in a team. I'm just going to talk to the emergency responders - make sure they're appropriately organized."

"Of course you are," Tony began, but she didn't hear the rest, because she handed the phone back to Nat and walked off toward the emergency response vehicles. Temperance poked around the emergency response area, asking questions about how many casualties and wounded they were dealing with, whether the surrounding buildings had been evacuated, etc. etc. until she felt a hand on her shoulder, ushering her away from the frustrated police officers. She was surprised when she turned to see that the hand belonged to Secretary Ross, and she resisted the urge to shrug it off, allowing him to guide her away to a more secluded area.

"You feeling alright?" He asked her. "You took quite a hit back there." She knew he was only asking to keep from jumping straight into his own agenda, but she wished he'd get on with it.

"I'm fine. What's the word?" She asked directly, crossing her arms.

"The word is that Barnes is involved, and we've got footage of him that places him near the explosives," Ross told her, confirming what she already knew. "He needs to be brought in, and the panel wants you to do it."

"Alright," Temperance said, pulling out her phone, "It'll take a few hours to get everyone rallied, but I think -"

"Not the Avengers," Ross interrupted, causing her to stop and look up at him. "You."

"Me?" She asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

"It's one man. Nobody's interested in seeing your family drama unfold - the more Avengers you involve, the more hectic it's going to be, and the more damage is inevitable. Your signature is on those papers, and the panel wants you," he lectured. Temp looked away, shoving her tongue into her cheek, "I want you to bring Barnes in, and I want you to do it _the quiet way._ Do you understand what I'm saying to you?"

Temperance glared up at him through her lashes, biting down hard on her cheek to keep herself from arguing. Of course she understood what he was saying. _The quiet way._ The accords hadn't even been in place for an hour yet, and he was already telling her to use her _influence._ She forced herself not to react so that she wouldn't give confirmation of her ability. She still wanted to play her cards close to her chest.

She had two choices: she could retire right now in front of Ross - tell him to go to hell - or she could play along and see just how much flexibility she could wrangle out of the accords. The latter seemed wiser for the moment, though she wasn't sure how she was going to bring in the Winter Soldier by herself. Either way, she agreed that he needed to be brought in. He was a danger to society, and he had killed the King of Wakanda - a country that had never bothered or hurt anyone in it's long, secluded history.

"Can I have Rhodes?" She asked, her negotiating habits rearing up in the midst of her frustration. She knew that Ross at least trusted Rhodey to carry out police action without question and to keep things professional, so it was worth a shot. He thought about it for a moment, before nodding and pulling out his phone.

"I'll send him your way." He said as she began walking away without another word. "Oh, and Ward?"

Temperance stopped and turned to face him again.

"If Rogers interferes, you bring him in, too."

* * *

 _Shit. Shit shit shit._ Temperance was miles-deep inside her head as she headed for the car. Nat, noticing that Temperance was attempting to leave without her, stepped in her path.

"Where are you going?" She asked, one perfect eyebrow raised.

"I have to handle something," Temp told her brusquely, trying to step around her. Nat blocked her again. "I'll see you back in New York."

"Handle what? We're supposed to be sitting on our hands." Nat challenged her.

"Nat, I really don't have time to talk about it," Temp said. She wasn't going to lie to Natasha, but she wasn't trying to tell her the truth, either. She didn't need to, though - Nat was the most perceptive person she'd ever met. Her face fell when she put two and two together.

"They're sending you." She said. Then, in disbelief, "They're sending you? What, now they're your biggest fans?"

"Now that I'm at their disposal?" Temp retorted, "Yeah. Imagine that."

"Steve and Sam are going after Barnes," Nat told her. "If you arrest him, you'll have to arrest them."

"I don't know what to say, Nat. This was the agreement." Temp said, her tone resolved.

"If you pull the cord on this, he's never gonna forgive you." Nat replied, her voice lowering. Temp tensed at the implication that she was considering using her ability on Steve. She brushed past Nat, unlocking the car and walking around to the driver's door.

"I'll find another way." She said.

"What way?" Nat pressed. Temperance climbed into the car without another word, unwilling to admit that she had no idea.

* * *

 **Bucharest, Romania**

"Friday, any sign of them?" Temperance asked as she glanced in the rearview mirror and switched lanes. She'd been weaving through traffic for the last 15 minutes, after landing the jet in Bucharest and changing into the spandex pants and breathable tank-top she kept on board for emergencies. It wasn't exactly spandex - some kind of synthetic fabric that was supposed to be rip-resistant, made from special fibers that Tony had been working on in recent years. He had badgered her constantly about building her a suit - _any_ kind of suit - for years now, but she was resistant to the idea, insisting that she didn't have much use for one.

"There appears to be an altercation happening near the Bucharest Beltway." Friday replied, causing Temp to change to the far right lane. She had headed for Romania the moment she got word that someone had spotted Barnes.

"North or south-bound?"

"Northbound."

Temp took the appropriate exit based on the map Friday was projecting for her and picked up speed as she entered the beltway. The sleek, black car that she drove was compact and sat low to the ground, since it was designed to be carried in the belly of the jet. She weaved closely between two cars, ignoring their honking, and passed into a tunnel.

"Pedestrians ahead." Friday reported. Temp sped up.

"Gotcha." She murmured, focusing in on the running figure just ahead. _Steve_. Just as she caught up to him, he hurled himself onto the windshield of the police car next to him. The officer slammed the brakes, and Temp cursed, whipping around them just in time. She glanced in her rearview mirror as Steve pulled the man out of his car and took it, leaving him stranded on the motorway. "Damn it, Steve."

She pressed onward, eager to get to Barnes before he did. She neared another running figure and almost slowed down, until she spotted Barne's metal arm reflecting light up ahead. She did a double take as she passed by the figure, dressed in a black cat suit. "Friday, who the hell is that?"

"I can't ascertain the identity of the third combatant" Friday replied. Temperance turned her attention back to the road and focused on catching Barnes. This guy was _fast._ They needed to get off the motorway before someone got killed. She watched as Barnes ran right over the top of a moving car like it was nothing, and she swerved around the car in pursuit of him. In her rearview mirror, blue flashing lights quickly approached. It was the police car that Steve had _commandeered_. She watched as the person in the black cat suit hopped onto a nearby car and launched themselves onto the back of Steve's car. Steve slowed down a bit, attempting to shake him off. Whoever that was, they seemed to have the same goal as she did. Steve's car slammed into the police car next to him as he swerved back and forth, and Temp's grip on the wheel tightened.

"Unbelievable." She muttered. When she focused back on the road, she noticed that Barnes had taken a swift left to avoid the police that had come to head them off at the entrance of the tunnel. Temp swerved left, too, wincing as her car plowed through a line of barrels and out of the tunnel. When she spotted Barnes again, he was flinging a man off his motorcycle and climbing on. The traffic, thankfully, stopped in time to avoid the poor man lying on the pavement, but Temp had seen _enough._ Barnes sped off down the tunnel in the opposite direction they'd been going, and Temp's tires screeched as she slammed the brakes and spun the car around.

"Okay," She said, shifting gears and slamming on the gas, "this is gonna stop."

She took off down the tunnel after him - by now, the police had started to stem traffic from coming into this area, which gave her a much straighter shot. "Friday, take the wheel."

"Activating autopilot," Friday responded. Temp pushed a button on the dash and the sun roof slid open with a _whoosh,_ causing her ponytail to whip around in the wind. She hoisted herself through the opening and planted her feet on either side, commanding Friday to close it 90%. She squatted low, clutching the small gap left in the sun roof to keep her balance as the car swerved a little.

"Alright, Friday, ease up to him," She called over the whipping wind. The car accelerated smoothly, and she shifted on her toes, preparing herself as the car approached Barnes' motorcycle. Just as she was psyching herself up for the jump, something came soaring past and slammed into her from the side, knocking her off her feet. She managed to keep her grip on the sunroof window with one hand and cried out as her body twisted, sliding off the side of the roof. She scrambled back up to see that Sam had been the one to barrel right through her. She growled in frustration - if she hadn't held on, she would have Steve's tire tracks on her back by now. "Friday, accelerate." She called. The car jolted forward to catch the winged man, and Temperance reached out, grabbing hold of his calf. His other foot attempted to kick her off, but she dodged it, yanking him down so that his body bounced off the hood of the car. He soared back up, spinning as his wings fumbled to find equilibrium again. Temp knelt low as the car zipped past underneath him.

"Asshole!" She called over her shoulder, glancing back to see that he had still managed to stay airborne - he would be fine. When she turned back around to find Barnes, her eyes widened. He had thrown an explosive up to the roof at the exit of the tunnel in an attempt to stop her from following him.

"Ma'am?" Friday asked, sensing the large chunks of concrete that fell into the road ahead of them.

"Not yet, Friday." Temp said, steeling herself and planting her feet as she watched Barnes drive under the falling rubble just in time.

"The road is 60% obstruc-"

"Not yet." Temp said, her brow creased in determination. She waited until the car was just about to plow into the stone obstructions.

"Brakes!" She shouted. The car screeched as Friday applied the brakes fully. The car still plowed into the concrete rubble, but the combination of the impact and the force of the brakes caused the car to tip onto its nose, vaulting Temperance forward. She used the momentum, leaping forward like a jungle cat on the hunt. She stretched through every muscle of her body as she was flung forward, closing the distance between her and Barnes. She slammed into him, knocking him off the motorcycle and sending them both crashing to the pavement. She grunted as her body slid across the pavement and rolled over Barnes three or four times from the momentum of the crash. She ignored the pain, scrambling to her feet as quickly as possible. She had rolled farther than Barnes, who also jumped to his feet. He looked back at the dead-end he'd created behind him and then forward again, where she stood in his way, feet planted. She pulled a small, heavy baton out of a compartment on her belt, and it activated at her touch, unsheathing itself in levels until it had built up into a long, blunt titanium staff.

"You're coming with me." She said. The cords that extended from his mind were unruly and squirming, but she could sense them. She hesitated only for a moment, faced with the decision of whether or not she wanted to use them, but a moment was all he needed. He rushed at her, and she swung her weapon so that the top end came at his head. He reached out and caught it with his metal hand easily, and she gritted her teeth as his other hand came out to grip the staff as well, trying to yank it out of her grasp. When it was clear that his strength was a match for hers, she used the force to brace herself and walked up his thigh, throwing her weight down toward the pavement. Her back rolled against the ground and he flipped over her, landing flat on his back. Temperance followed all the way through the roll with a backwards somersault that landed her directly on top of Barnes, whom she straddled. She brought the staff, which he still held with both hands, across his chest and pushed down, trying to keep him subdued. His leg came up, trying to hook around her neck, but she'd sparred enough with Natasha to see it coming and leaned forward, dodging it. The side of the staff that he was holding with his metal arm was steadily rising, and she knew she couldn't hold him down forever. Her hands shifted positions on the staff, and he smirked as he gained ground, pushing the bar away from his neck. She smirked back, her hands finding the two sections of the staff with rubber coatings. She twisted her wrists in opposite directions, causing the weapon to emit a charge. She felt a slight jolt from her contact with him and jumped as his body went slack. He groaned, letting go of the staff.

Temperance blew at a strand of hair that had fallen out of her ponytail and into her face, feeling triumphant. She pulled back her elbow, ready to knock him out completely, when another body tackled her from the side, knocking her head against the pavement. She groaned as she rolled away, bringing a hand to her head. The man in the black cat suit had already climbed to his feet and was standing threateningly over Barnes.

"I thought you were on my side," she groaned to nobody in particular, pushing herself back up. Before she could do anything else, Steve appeared and grabbed the man around the waist, throwing him off of Barnes. Steve stood protectively between Barnes and his two pursuers, glancing warily at Temperance. Temp had managed to hold onto her weapon, and tapped it three times with her ring finger. The metal plating shifted under her hand and the weapon curled into itself until it formed a stun gun. Temp pointed it at Steve, then the man in black, then Steve again.

"This is over." She ordered breathlessly, relieved when the police moved in to surround them. She tensed as Rhodey landed a few feet away from her with a heavy _thunk_ and then relaxed, dropping her gun and allowing him to take over.

"Stand down. _Now."_ Rhodey commanded. Steve obliged, putting his shield on his back and putting his hands up. "Congratulations, Cap. You're a criminal."

SWAT moved in and began to cuff Steve, Barnes, and Sam (who had just caught up to the confrontation). Temperance eyed the man in the black cat suit, who retracted his claws and reached up to pull off his mask.

 _T'Challa._ Now it made sense - he hadn't come to help arrest Barnes. He had come for his own personal vendetta. Which meant that he, too, had violated the accords. SWAT cuffed him as well and began to load the perpetrators into a car. Steve made eye contact with her as he was ushered into the backseat, and she looked away, angry.

"Nice work, Temp." Rhodey assured her. Temp gave a curt nod, sheathing her weapon.

"Yeah, whatever."

* * *

 **Berlin, Germany**

Temperance's mood had improved a little, but not much when they arrived at the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre in Berlin. The director of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, Everett Ross, greeted them in the motorpool and escorted them up to the offices, where the perpetrators of the accord would be held as a courtesy (as opposed to a cell)- a courtesy that he made sure they recognized.

Temp was relieved to see that Nat and Tony were already waiting for them in the offices, and she immediately crossed the room to join them, distancing herself from Steve and Sam, whom she hadn't said a word to since Bucharest. Barnes had been confined in a cell compartment on another level of the building, and T'Challa had been taken to another office, presumably so that he could make phone calls and handle the situation with some privacy.

"Romania was not accords sanctioned." Tony was saying to someone one the phone. Temperance hadn't thought about that. Did that mean they were off the hook this time? "Colonel Rhodes is supervising cleanup. Consequences? _You_ _bet_ there will be consequences."

Tony got off the phone, and Steve was immediately asking questions, "Consequences?"

"Secretary Ross wants you both prosecuted," Tony said, putting his phone in his pocket, "I had to give him something."

"I'm not going to get that shield back, am I?" Steve asked. Temp snorted derisively, crossing her arms. That was really his biggest concern right now? The shield? Her reaction caught the attention of Tony, who turned to face her.

"What happened with you?" He asked, "I tell you to sit tight, and the next thing I see is your face plastered all over the news?"

"You told me to wait to hear our next move," She corrected him, "And Ross told me the next move."

"He said jump, and you said 'how high'? That's how it works now, right?" Sam asked, crossing his arms. Temperance turned and pointed a threatening finger in his direction.

" _You_ don't get to talk to me." She said. Tony glanced between the two of them.

"Well, something clearly happened there, but we don't have time to unpack all of _that,"_ He said, pulling his phone out and projecting a video in front of Temperance. It took Temp a moment to register that the girl in the images, jumping from a car crash and knocking a man off a motorcycle was her. She winced as she watched herself hit the ground and roll. She hadn't even noticed that the motorcycle had flipped right over top of her after she hit the ground. "Pretty impressive moves there, Miss _I Don't Need a Suit."_

"I don't," Temp said simply, feeling particularly contrary after the events of the day.

"Yeah? Lose the jacket." Tony ordered, shutting down the projection. Temp sighed and pulled off the jacket that one of the SWAT members had offered her. Everyone in the room winced at the sight of her shoulders, which were scraped red and raw from the burn the concrete had given her. Tony's jaw set, and Temperance, knowing that he was now angry, felt her own anger slip away a little bit.

"I used the Swiss Army Knife," She said with a wry little smile. Some of the mirth returned to Tony's eyes, and he smirked triumphantly.

"I saw that," He replied. "Worked like a charm."

Temperance rolled her eyes, the tension having dispelled with the exchange. The weapon she'd used on Barnes was something that Tony had designed for her and insisted she start carrying - calling it a _heavy duty swiss army knife_ because of the many functions it has. Tony gestured to Natasha to come with the two of them, and Nat nodded, turning to Steve and Sam, "Try not to break anything while we fix this."

* * *

"Why don't you go try and talk to him?" Tony asked Temperance as they stood outside of the glass-walled meeting room that Steve was sitting in.

"Did Ross tell you to say that?" She asked, her tone challenging. Tony's eyebrows raised.

"No, but this attitude is really becoming on you." He replied sarcastically, "Is it going to be with us much longer?"

Temperance sighed, her face softening. "I'm sorry. It's just -Ross wanted me to…" She trailed off, knowing that he could fill in the blanks himself. Tony's eyebrows furrowed.

"He said that?"

"It was heavily implied."

"And did you?"

"Of course not!"

"Alright, well, I'm not asking you to go in there as _Siren_. I'm asking you to go in as Temp - someone Rogers really respects." He clarified.

"Fine," Temperance agreed. Tony had tried talking to Steve and had been making some ground. However, when Steve found out that Wanda was being kept at the Avengers facility in New York for the time being (until they could figure out a plan for her), he had become angry and doubled down on his stance. When she took a seat next to Steve at the conference table, he was wearing a soft, sad smile.

"You're not gonna change my mind, Temp." He said.

"Probably not." She agreed. The space between his brows furrowed.

"I'm sorry about the roadburn."

"Don't be," She said simply, "I made a choice."

"Yeah." He replied. There was such a palpable divide between them as they sat there, and it made Temperance's chest tight to think about. She may not have been on many missions over the years, but the Avengers had been her family after she had none, and looking out for the team had been her life; she couldn't bear the thought of a permanent split. She wanted Steve to give this up and fall into line, _badly,_ and her ability was responding to the desire.

Steve's will had always had unique cords. Temp had disagreed with him enough over the years to be well-acquainted with them. They were firm and sturdy - she had a feeling that they weren't easy to pull - and yet they didn't swing away from her and flail like others'. It had taken her years to piece together that this meant that he trusted her. In some ways, it made the temptation harder. The cords just reached out to her, unassuming, waiting to be grabbed.

 _Just one pull,_ she thought. _One pull and we could all go back to New York as a family._ He probably wouldn't even know the difference, as much as he trusted her. Tony had even said that he seemed to be on the fence before he found out about Wanda. He could probably be convinced that he made the decision himself.

Temp blinked, shaking her head a little bit as if that would make the temptation go away.

"Temp, are you alright?" Steve asked. His eyebrows furrowed, and his eyes narrowed a little.

"I'm fine," She said. She had come in with a game plan - specific points to bring up, arguments to make. Never in her life had she been so utterly unfocused in a negotiation. But her ability was so strong right now - she was subconsciously boring deep into his mind, and his cords were so discernible, so palpable. "I'm…."

"You don't seem to have much to say," Steve said, his frown deepening. Then she felt it. First it was just a tremor. Then, slowly, warily, the cords curled away from her and just out of reach. Her eyes snapped to his. He was suspicious of her.

"I'm not trying to control you," She said.

"I know." He replied shortly, though his posture had straightened, and his expression wasn't nearly as soft as it had been before. She felt exposed and defensive and _ashamed,_ as if he had been able to read her thoughts when she was considering it. She opened her mouth, unsure what she was even going to say, but it didn't matter. She was interrupted by sirens and flashing lights.


	11. Chapter 11

**Queens, NY**

Temperance tapped a finger impatiently against the car door as she stared out the window at the passing buildings. In the last 24 hours, she'd had her ass kicked twice and slept zero times. Shortly after Barnes had escaped from the Joint Counter Terrorist Centre, the team had been tasked with finding him, and Tony had whisked her back to New York. She shifted to face Tony, unable to hold her piece any longer.

"I just want to say, for the record, that this is a bad idea." She said, adjusting the collar of her shirt as it rubbed against her roadburn.

"Well, I don't see many other options here, Temp," Tony argued. They had returned to the Avengers facility to find that Clint had come to jailbreak Wanda, who was now nowhere to be found. This left them with nobody except Nat, Rhodey, and Vision, and they would need as many hands as possible to bring the others in, especially since Steve seemed to be recruiting for his cause. Temp was relieved to not be on her own this time, but she wasn't sold on Tony's recruitment plan.

Then again, her last encounter with Barnes left her doubtful about being able to bring him in. When he had escaped from the Joint Counter Terrorism Centre, he had been... _different,_ to say the least. His fighting was more ferocious, and his eyes were empty. He had mopped the floor with all of them, and Temperance had been nervous and desperate enough to pull on his cords.

" _Stop!" She cried, struggling to pull herself to her feet as he walked away. She grabbed his cords with her mind and yanked. He had sent a chilling look over his shoulder, but his feet never stopped moving, and the cords Temperance pulled felt different - hollow, almost, as if they were just a facsimile of the real thing. They couldn't be pulled - couldn't be harnessed._

Temperance pushed the memory away as a seed of shame spread inside her and made her stomach hurt. She had kept that detail of the incident to herself, not wanting to admit that she had tried to use her ability, particularly now, when the accords made her feel so closely watched.

"He's a kid, Tony," She told her friend, forcing herself to focus on the task at hand.

"So were you."

"No, I wasn't," She argued, "That's just how you remember it."

"You _practically_ were." He amended, sighing as he looked away. She could tell that he was bending under the weight of trying to keep the team together - that he was as desperate as she was to find a way to make this all work. She gave him a soft, close-lipped smile.

"Pepper called," She said. Tony snorted, but his face softened.

"Did she ask about me?"

"Yes," she said, "she's worried."

"Well, she has a funny way of showing it," He murmured, fidgeting the way he always did when he was trying to divert emotional energy that he didn't want to express.

"I know, believe me, I told her," Temp insisted, causing him to smile a little, "nobody wants you guys to work out your issues more than me. I'm the victim of this failed relationship, truly."

"Is that so?"

"Yes!" Temp said heartily, as they climbed out of the backseat of the car, spirits lighter. "If you guys were communicating better, I wouldn't have ended up on a blind date with that guy!"

"What guy?" Tony asked as she rounded the car and joined him on the sidewalk.

"That guy you work with! The B.A.R.F. guy!" She said, her hands gesturing wildly. Tony's expression was aghast.

" _You went out with him?_ " He asked in disbelief, "When? _Why?_ He's less stable than a two-legged chair."

"Yeah, I know that _now,"_ Temp said, "but Pepper, who met him like _twice_ , insisted he was a sweet guy." She explained as Tony gestured to the apartment building in front of them and led her up the stoop.

"Where did you go? What did you talk about?" He asked, still utterly incredulous as they disappeared through the front doors of the building.

"Trust me, we don't have time to unpack that."

* * *

"You're Temperance Ward!" May Parker had exclaimed when she noticed Temp standing behind Tony, who was just about to turn and introduce her himself.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you." She said cordially, reaching out to shake the woman's hand.

"Oh my God, I can't believe this," May said, holding onto Temp's hand and clasping it warmly between her own two hands. "I've been following your humanitarian work over the years. I was just reading this article in The Times the other day about your work in Sokovia," She continued, leading them over to the sitting area, "Why don't you two have a seat? Peter should be home any minute. Would you like something to drink? Oh, I think I have some walnut date loaf in the kitchen…"

"Oh, that's really okay-" Temperance tried to politely refuse, but May had already disappeared into the kitchen, still rambling. Tony watched her go, surprise and interest still written all over his face.

"That's his _aunt?"_ He whispered in disbelief. Temp picked up one of the wrapped candies in a bowl on the coffee table and chucked it at him. She had sat in an armchair across from the couch, where Tony had planted himself, obviously intending to sit next to May. He rubbed his head where the candy had bounced off, and turned around to look at her.

"Don't even think about it!" Temp whisper-shouted.

"What? I'm not doing anything!" He retorted.

"I'm serious! I did not come here to be your wingman! I swear, if you make this uncomfortable, I _will_ tell Pepper." She threatened, still whispering.

"No you won't." He retorted, though the idea of it obviously bothered him. Tony could joke around and play careless all he wanted, but he was wrapped around Pepper Potts' finger for good. He was right, of course - Temp certainly had no intention of saying anything to Pepper that would drive a larger wedge between them.

"I will!" She argued. The two continued to whisper back and forth over each other until May entered with a plate full of walnut date loaf, which caused them to stop and plaster smiles on their faces. Temperance grabbed a piece off the plate when it was offered to her, biting into it with a grateful smile. It was dry as a bone, and she tried not to cough as she forced it down.

"So, why are you looking for Peter?" She asked, sitting down on the couch next to Tony. Temp cleared her throat and scooted forward in her seat, folding her hands over her knee.

"Ms. Parker, Peter is a very bright kid," She said.

"Oh, trust me, I know," She replied, "he's a total math and science wiz."

"Well, that's why we're here. He actually applied for a grant with the September Foundation, and we were hoping to deliver the news that he's been selected for it in person." Tony explained. May's eyes widened at the news, and Temperance was not surprised by the reaction. She couldn't have known that Peter applied, considering that _he didn't._

"What?" She asked, her face breaking into a smile and her voice filled with excitement. Temp had to admit, she _was_ shockingly beautiful. "What's the September Foundation?"

"It's a fund I've developed to provide opportunities for schools and promising young minds who want to make a difference in the STEM fields," Tony explained.

"Wow, that's amazing,"

"Oh, it's nothing," Tony insisted, feigning humility, "Just my small way of giving back."

Temperance fought the urge to roll her eyes. She straightened when she heard the door of the apartment opening and closing. May's smile widened, and Temp could tell she was excited to share the news with her nephew. Temperance was a little nervous - she'd come along because Tony wanted someone to sit with May and talk to her while he got a moment alone with Peter to explain the _real_ reason for their visit. Before they got the two of them separated, though, there was no telling how their charade would hold up. Temp had reminded Tony that it was entirely possible May already _knew_ about Peter, but he didn't find it likely, and they had agreed it would be best to proceed with caution, just in case.

"Hey, May," a voice called, walking behind a partition wall near the front door.

"Hey, Peter, how was school?" May replied. The boy appeared in the kitchen, pulling his earbuds out.

"Good," he said, "there's this _crazy_ car parked outside -" he stopped when he looked up and saw who was sitting in his living room. His eyes flicked between Temp and Tony, obviously recognizing them, before coming to land fully on Tony.

"Hi, Mr. Parker," Tony greeted, smirking at the boy's starstruck expression. Temp took a good look at him - he was so, _so_ young, and he seemed sweet and docile. She wasn't surprised that this was the kid swinging around in his pajamas on the YouTube videos that Tony had showed her.

"What-what are you doing . . .? Hey! Uh, I'm-I'm-I'm Peter," the boy stuttered. Temperance tried (and failed) to suppress a smile.

"Tony," Tony introduced himself, "And this is Temp."

The boy gave her a polite nod, but was having trouble pulling his attention from the technology mogul sitting on his sofa.

"What are . . .what are you-what are you-what are you doing here?" He asked.

"It's about time we met. You've been getting my emails, right?" Tony replied easily. Temp tensed a little, waiting to see what Peter would do.

"Yeah," Peter replied, crossing his arms to keep from fidgeting, "Yeah. Regarding the..."

"You didn't tell me about the grant!" May jumped in.

"The grant?"

"The September Foundation." Temperance added. Peter nodded.

"Yeah, remember when you applied?" Tony asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, I approved, so now we're in business."

"You didn't tell me anything," May said, turning to face Peter more fully, "What's up with that? You keeping secrets from me now?"

"Why, I just, I just . . . I just know how much you love surprises, so I thought I would let you know . . . wh . . . anyway, what did I apply for?" Peter asked. Temperance had to admit that he was quick to catch on, even if he wasn't the smoothest.

"Well, that's what we're here to hash out." Tony said. "You know, it is so hard for me to believe that _she_ is someone's aunt," he added, gesturing to May. Temp raised an annoyed eyebrow, and May laughed.

"Well, you know, we come in all shapes and sizes," she said. Peter glanced between the two of them uncomfortably and then sent Temperance a confused look.

"Hey Tony," Temp cut in, "why don't you take Peter and do the preliminary...introduction... interview, and I'll stay here with Ms. Parker and tell her more about the grant."

"Great idea!" Tony played along, before adding to May, "if that's alright with you."

"Of course! Of course." May said, waving a dismissive hand as Tony followed Peter into a back bedroom.

"So, is Peter doing a project? Or is it more like an internship?" May asked once they were alone.

"A little bit of both," Temp replied, "he'll develop his own project, but he'll be working closely with us on it. The goal is for recipients to develop technology that is new and innovative, but also has real world, humanitarian applications. That's why Tony and I both have a vested interest in him as a recipient."

She was lying through her teeth, and she sincerely hoped she wouldn't be given a reason to regret it later.

* * *

 **Berlin, Germany**

When they landed at the airport in Berlin, Tony instructed Nat to park the quinjet out of sight in a hangar that had been cleared specifically for them. She did, and they all exited, their expressions heavy with the dread of having to bring in their friends.

"They should be here any time now. We'll head them off - we try talking to Rogers first. See if they'll come in the easy way. If they don't, we engage, but try and go easy on them. Vision, why don't you hold off until we know that we need you?"

"And if _they_ don't want to go easy on _us_?" Nat asked, raising an eyebrow. There was a tense silence as they all considered how intense this confrontation could get. Temperance glanced at T'Challa, who'd been brooding and silent since they'd picked him up. As he wasn't attached to their group and had his own personal motivations, she was worried that he would hurt someone, but they needed him - they had Tony, Nat, Vision, Temperance, Rhodey, Peter, and T'Challa. They knew, at the very least, that Steve and Bucky had Sam, Wanda, and Clint. She hoped that it would be enough.

"Temp," Tony murmured, pulling her to the side, "I want you to stick close to the kid, okay? He knows what he's supposed to do, just...keep an eye on him."

"You recruited him - you watch him." Temp retorted. Tony's brows lowered and creased in the disappointed way a father's does when their teenager is being difficult. Temp glanced over at the boy, who had just been dropped off by Happy and was politely attempting to introduce himself to every person in the room.

"Fine." She agreed.

"Great, he'll be delighted! He has a poster of you on his wall, you know," Tony added.

"No, he doesn't." Temp argued, though she shifted uncomfortably at the thought.

"No, but the look on your face just now was priceless," Tony continued, causing Temperance to huff in annoyance, "Just watch him, alright?"

"Hey, Parker," Temp called, nodding for the boy to come over. Peter practically bounded over to her as Tony walked off to speak with Vision. Peter's mask was off, but he was suited up in the suit that Tony had made especially for him. Temperance was wearing a full-body suit this time as well, mostly to cover her roadburn, though she'd insisted on nothing gimmicky, so it was plain and black, with boning and flexible plating in places for added protection.

"Hey, Miss Ward," He said, "Can you believe this suit? It fits like a glove. I'll really be able to move in this."

"Peter, I'm not your teacher," She replied, raising an eyebrow, "Call me Temp."

"Right. Temp. Sorry." Peter continued, nodding. She could tell it felt unnatural for him, but he was making an effort to please her. "So, do you think they're here yet?"

"Probably," She answered, "You know the drill?"

"Keep my distance," Peter recited dutifully, "and only engage when Mr. Stark says so."

"Good," Temp answered, "I'll be close by, so if you get in a pinch, just yell for me."

"What are the chances that we'll actually have to fight?" Peter asked. Temperance sighed, thinking about her last interaction with Steve, Bucky, and Sam.

"I'd count on it."

* * *

When Steve finally ran out onto the tarmac where they had been waiting to intercept him, he was going for a helicopter. Tony shot an electrical charge through it to disable the vehicle and then landed in front of Steve, Rhodey right at his side.

"Wow, it's so weird how you run into people at the airport." Tony began, causing Temperance to sigh. He had never been the most delicate negotiator. Peter started to say something from behind her shoulder, and she shushed him, trying to hear the conversation. Natasha and T'Challa had also stepped out from their defensive positions to try and reason with Steve.

"I'm here with Temp, aka The Siren, and out there is Captain America, Black widow-"

It was the use of her media moniker that got her attention, and Temp turned to see that Peter was filming her and the scene in front of them with his cell phone.

"What are you doing?" She asked, exasperated. "Stop it! Give me that."

She held out her hand insistently for the phone, but Peter quickly stowed it away "No, no. It's okay, I'm putting it away! I'm putting it away. Sorry."

Temp rolled her eyes, " _Stay here_ until we call for you."

The boy nodded and Temp stepped out from behind the luggage transport vehicle she had been crouching behind. Steve had his back turned as she approached.

"You're after the wrong guy," He was saying.

"Your judgement is askew," Tony interrupted him, "Your old war buddy killed innocent people yesterday,"

"And there are five more super soldiers just like him," Steve argued, "I can't let the doctor find them first, Tony. I can't."

Temperance's eyebrows furrowed as she wondered where the new story he was spouting came from. "If it's a real threat, I'm sure the panel will send us to check it out." She spoke up, causing Steve to turn and look at her. "None of this is an excuse not to hand over Barnes."

"Steve," Nat said, "You know what's about to happen. Do you really want to punch your way out of this one?"

Steve was quiet for a long moment, considering it.

"Alright, I've run out of patience," Tony decided, "Underoos!"

Peter, being perceptive enough to know that this was his cue, leapt from his hiding place and swung over Temp's head, using a web to grab Steve's shield and another one to restrain his hands. He soared over the group and landed on a baggage tractor. The corners of Temp's mouth pulled up a bit as she watched how easily the boy had subdued Steve.

"Nice job, kid." Tony said.

"Thanks. I mean, I could've stuck the landing a little better, it's just a new suit - it's nothing, Mr. Stark. It's perfect. Thank you." Peter rambled as Steve watched, dumbfounded.

"Yeah, we don't really need to start a conversation." Tony told Peter, causing him to pipe down. This only lasted a moment before he addressed Steve, saluting him and insisting that he was 'a big fan.' Tony quieted him again.

"You've been busy," Steve said.

"And you've been a complete idiot," Tony retorted, "Dragging in Clint? _Rescuing_ Wanda from a place she doesn't even want to leave? A _safe_ place? I'm trying to keep-" Tony paused for a moment, trying to collect himself, "I'm trying to keep you from tearing the Avengers apart."

Temp swallowed, hoping beyond all hope that Steve would just listen instead of doubling down like he usually did. The stress in Tony's brow reminded her that she wasn't the only one who thought of the Avengers as her family. Nat, too. This wasn't just about Barnes or the Accords - this was about staying together.

"You did that when you signed." Steve said.

"Steve, whatever is happening in Siberia, we can figure it out _together._ We'll listen, I promise. But you have to stop." Temp tried, feeling desperate to end this thing before it came to a head. Steve said nothing, but she could tell by the remorseful look he was giving her that it wasn't going to happen.

"Alright, we're done," Tony said, his voice rising, "you're gonna turn Barnes over, and you're gonna come with us, _now._ Because it's _us,"_ Temp and Nat made anxious eye contact, bracing for the inevitable rejection Steve was about to deliver them, "or a squad of J-SOC guys with no compunction about being impolite."

Temp straightened a little at that, emboldened. Tony was right. Better for her to fight her friends than to see someone else come in with shoot-to-kill orders. Tony whispered a strangled, desperate, " _Come on,"_ and Temp's chest constricted. Tony, Steve, Nat, and Temp had been together since the beginning. Why was Steve the only one who didn't seem to care about losing that? It _hurt._ She sensed Steve's cords stretching toward her as he considered it, and she turned her face to the side, looking away, as if that would help stifle the temptation. Her eyes darted back when she saw movement - Steve had raised his bound hands into the air, and an arrow zipped right between them, breaking the webs. Temp took a step toward him, but stopped when someone appeared in front of Peter, kicking him right under the chin and taking Steve's shield.

"Whoa - what the hell was that?" Rhodey asked.

"Hey!" Temperance shouted, angry that someone had already hit the minor that Tony had put under her charge.

"I believe this is yours, Captain America," said the unfamiliar voice under the mask as he handed Steve's shield back. Where had they found this guy?

"Alright," Tony said over the radio as he took off, "there's two on the parking deck - one of them's Maximoff - I'm gonna grab her. Rhodey, you wanna take cap?"

"We've got two in the terminal - Wilson and Barnes," Rhodey replied, looking up at the glass-walled terminal.

"Barnes is mine!" T'Challa exclaimed, running off.

"Temp, wanna say hello to your old pal Sam?" Tony asked.

"Wouldn't want to be rude," Temp replied, turning to look for an entrance into the terminal. Steve had run off to stop T'Challa with Rhodey hot on his heels, and the new guy was facing off with Nat.

"Hey, Mr. Stark, what should I do?" Peter asked.

"Go with Temp, and do what we discussed. Keep your distance, and web 'em up."

"I'll meet you up th-" Temperance began, gasping loudly as Peter swung down and swept her off the tarmac. "Hey! Ask first!"

"Sorry," Peter said as he swung them up to the roof of the terminal, "I thought it'd be faster." Swinging was much different than getting a lift from Tony or Rhodey - in between webs, there was a moment of free-fall and then a stomach-lurching stop when the next web caught.

"Don't take this the wrong way," Peter said as they swung alongside the terminal. Temp could see Wilson and Barnes running inside, "but you're a lot heavier than I thought you'd be. Not in like a fat way, but in a way that defies the laws of matter and physics. What are you made of?"

Temperance gave him a flat look. She had always been a little bit heavy for her size, but in the last few years (perhaps because she'd been training and developing her physical Asgardian abilities more), her weight had risen out of the realm of possibility for any human her size. She had asked Thor about it when she first noticed it, and he'd simply shrugged and told her that Asgardians are dense.

"It's not polite to ask a woman what she's made of." She told Peter.

"Sorry," He apologized again, "Hang on."

Peter swung them away from the windows and then pivoted so that they were headed directly for the glass, feet-first. When they burst through the window, Temp let go of Peter and went flying directly into Sam, knocking him to the ground. The two of them rolled until they hit the wall, and Sam landed on top, pulling back a fist to hit her.

She caught it with ease and brought her other hand up behind his neck, grabbing him and knocking his head against the wall next to them. Knowing that he wasn't technically an 'enhanced person,' she wanted to avoid punching him directly.

She managed to pull a leg up between them and kicked him off of her. She jumped up to climb on top of him, but before she could, his wings lurched him up into the air and he flew away, barreling into Peter, who had been engaging with Barnes.

"That's right - run away!" Temp called after him with a smug look.

Barnes turned to look at her, and her smirk faded as she grabbed the Swiss Army Knife from her belt. She brought it out in front of her and wrapped both hands on the baton, sliding her fists together. The object responded to the movement, separating into two pieces and reforming around her fingers as two pairs of steel brass knuckles. She clenched her fists around them and pulled her elbows back, getting into a better fighting stance.

Barnes' eyes weren't empty this time, and his cords felt a lot more life-like. Still, Temperance didn't have good feelings after their last bout. Barnes approached her quickly, his metal fist swinging down at her. She blocked it with a forearm, stepping back as his other fist immediately followed. She blocked it as well, bringing up a leg to kick him in the side while their arms were still raised. Her balance was a little bit off, so she didn't hit him full force - he flinched but didn't fall, and she kicked him again. He caught her leg this time and pulled her closer, holding it captive under his metal arm. Temperance hopped on one foot, attempting to keep her balance. One hand pulled at his metal arm to no avail, and the other caught his natural fist when it came at her face. With both his hands now preoccupied, Temp pulled her head back and headbutted him in an attempt to get him to let go. His head recoiled, and he groaned but didn't let go. His natural hand came up behind her head and grabbed a fistful of hair, right at the roots, yanking her head back.

"Are you kidding me?" Temp growled between gritted teeth. She reached up and latched onto his long locks as well. The two of them spun around like that, heads thrown back from the hair-pulling and Temp hopping on one foot as she still tried to extract her leg from his vice-like grip. Temp released his hair first, bringing her fist down across his jaw while it was still exposed. He released her hair for a moment, and, realizing that her leg wasn't coming down anytime soon, she decided the rest of her would just have to go up. She put her hands on his shoulders and pushed down, hoisting herself up and swinging a leg up over the shoulder opposite of the arm that was holding her leg. The new angle allowed her to lift her leg out of his grip and she sat straddling one shoulder. Before he could throw her off, she pressed her brass knuckles against his neck and activated a charge, shocking him. He stumbled to his hands and knees, and she landed on her feet as he went down, standing over him

"You ch-cheated," he stuttered, not fully recovered from the charge she'd sent through his system. He glared up at her through a curtain of his hair, " _again_."

"And you pulled my hair," Temp replied, delivering a right hook to his jaw. When he recoiled, his face downturned, she grabbed his hair and pulled him upright again - the brass knuckles had drawn blood from his mouth. She pulled back and punched him again, this time in the temple. He was going to recover from that charge any second, and she wanted to knock him out before that happened. She released his hair and brought her fists back together, connecting the brass knuckles, and they knitted back together into a baton. Just as she was lifting the baton to deliver the final blow, Sam swooped down and rammed into her, knocking her to the ground several feet away.

Temperance wanted to scream - that was the _second_ time she'd been tackled from the side in the last two days. She would need to see a chiropractor after all this was over. She had dropped her baton, and Barnes had recovered enough to sweep it up and start toward her. She climbed to her feet just as Sam swooped past a second time. She ducked, dodging him, and Peter swung into view.

"I got him!" He assured Temp, shooting a web at the base of Sam's wings. Sam swooped away at the last moment and the clump of webbing that Peter shot hit Temperance square in the face. Temp reared back, reaching up to grab at the sticky substance. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" She heard Peter saying as he moved toward her, but Sam intercepted him again, and they continued their scuffle.

The webbing covered the lower half of her face, including both her mouth and nose, and she fought to stay calm as she pulled at it to no avail. Tony had said that the tensile strength of this stuff was off the charts - there was no way she'd be able to pull it off herself in time. In her frenzy to get enough leverage to pull it off, she fell to the ground and rolled back and forth. Her body tried to let out a panicked sob, and when no sound made it through the sticky gag, she panicked even more. Barnes crouched over her with the baton in hand, and she grabbed his wrist in a futile attempt to subdue him. His eyes searched hers.

"This thing got a knife?" He asked, holding it out to her. She reached up and brushed two fingers along the end of it, and the metal plating shifted away to reveal a small blue laser. It wasn't a knife, but it would work. If the tensile strength of Peter's web roping was strong, the shearing strength would be the weak point. She tried to take the baton from Barnes, but he held it tight, bringing it up to her face. She tried not to flinch away. Black spots were now encroaching on the edges of her vision, and her lungs were burning.

"Hold still," Barnes chastised as he cut at the webbing. He finally managed to cut away enough to free her mouth, and she took in big, gasping breaths, turning onto her side as she tried to recover. Barnes watched her for a moment, putting the Swiss Army Knife down.

"Better?" He asked finally. Temperance nodded a little and looked up at him through her hair. "Good," He said, and the last thing Temp saw was a glint of light off his metal fist before it connected with her face and everything went black.

* * *

"Temp? Temperance? Miss Ward?"

A voice dragged Temperance out of the darkness and her head rolled sideways. She groaned and opened her eyes. When the image of the bug-like face above her cleared, she jumped, startled, and Peter placed both hands on her shoulders as she tried to sit up.

"Oh, thank god," He said, taking shallow, nervous breaths as he pulled his mask off. "You're not dead."

Temp looked around the terminal as she tried to put together what had happened. "How long was I out?"

"Just a few minutes," Peter assured her. Temp's eyes narrowed, and she looked at Peter, whose expression was that of a deer in headlights.

"You almost killed me!" She said, reaching up and feeling the sticky fragments of webbing that still spotted her cheeks and chin.

"I know, I'm _so sorry,_ I _promise_ I wasn't aiming for you-"

"Where are they?" She asked, glancing around more frantically, "Did they get away?"

"No, they're just downstairs," He told her. Her eyebrows furrowed. She grabbed the Swiss Army Knife and got to her feet, walking over to the railing nearby where there was an overlook of the lower level. Barnes and Wilson both lay on the floor, restrained by webs.

"Web 'em down more," Temp told Peter, who had put his mask back on.

"Is there any way you could _not_ tell Mr. Stark that I almost suffoca-" Peter began to ask, but as he shot another web at Barnes, Sam's drone zipped past and caught the web, pulling Peter out of the terminal. Temp watched him go and sighed, giving Sam a baleful look. Barnes had already managed to extract the arm that was webbed down, and Sam, who had only had his arms webbed against his chest, got up and ran after him. They ran under the platform Temp was standing on and disappeared from sight. Temp gave a frustrated growl and headed in the other direction, after Peter. If she could get to him quickly, he could swing them to the hangar first and head them off - they were obviously headed for the quinjet. Just as she had made it out of the terminal, Peter landed in front of her.

"Hangar five!" She told him, pointing in the direction they needed to go.

"Right," Peter said. There was a long moment where he just stood there, not moving, and Temp gave him an exasperated look. "May...May I…pick you up?"

"Yes!" Temp said, motioning for him to hurry up.

"Okay, I'm just - you said earlier…nevermind," Peter said as they swung toward hangar five.

When they reached hangar five, it was clear that a line of resistance was already forming in front of it. Peter dropped them down in the middle of it, and Temp let go, moving to stand next to Nat. Steve and his cohort were standing behind a line that Vision had carved in the ground, and there were destroyed vehicles and flames littering the tarmac behind them.

"What the hell did we miss?" Temp asked aloud to no one in particular.

"We're not going easy on them anymore," Nat replied, her tone hard. The two sides stood each other down for a minute, but neither team looked ready to back down. Steve's cohort began to move toward them, and Temp started walking forward to meet them, alongside the others.

"This is gonna end well," Nat muttered next to her. The other side sped up, and so did they.

"They're not stopping," Peter announced anxiously from Temp's other side.

"Neither are we," Tony replied.

Temperance gritted her teeth and forced one foot in front of the other. She squeezed her fists tight as she ran, digging her nails into her palms to detract from the sensation of six tantalizing sets of cords swirling around in her head.


End file.
